Target Unexpected
by smartkid37
Summary: Team Gibbs has solved countless cases and made many enemies. Now, one of their own is in jeopardy and someone claiming revenge is the key. Will they lose one of their own before it's all over?
1. Chapter 1

_**PROLOGUE:**_

_Cold!_

_Wet!_

_Oh, Crap!_

_PAIN!_

_Freezing!_

_Where the hell am I?_

_Seatbelt! _

_In a car!_

_Oh, God! Everything hurts!_

_Cold!_

_Wet!_

_The car's full of water!_

_What the hell happened?_

_**Think!**_

_Boss?_

_Head feels like it's exploding, Boss!_

_Cold!_

_Wet!_

_Water's where? Oh, God!, it's up to my waist!_

_What the hell happened?_

_Where am I?_

_**THINK, AGENT!** _

_Boss?_

_Ok, I'm thinking. Last thing I remember?_

_Witness statements! _

_R__ight! Was supposed to get those!_

Yeah, guess Boss is gonna be pissed at me again.

_**USE YOUR HEAD!**_

Boss? Is Gibbs here?

_**No, you're on your own! **_

_Whole body's on fire, hurts so bad._

_**Think! What do you remember last?**_

_Driving. Yeah, I was driving._

_Is that darkness closing in on me?_

_**THINK!**_

_Thought Gibbs wasn't here!_

_**Call for help! **_

_Right, Cell phone!_

_**Where is it?**_

_Spare's on the visor._

_**Use it! Call for help!**_

_Right. Call for help. Can't reach it. Hurts to move._

_**Reach for the phone!**_

_Right. Reaching for the phone. God, it hurts so bad!_

_Oh! God, that hurts! What's that in my way?_

_**Water's risin! Make the cal!**_

_Right. making the call. _

_That darkness is a lot closer now. _

_**MAKE THE CALL**_

_Right. Gotta hit the buttons. __Can't see straight. Hope I hit the right one_

"Yeah. Gibbs"

_Gibbs!"_

Boss?

**McGee? McGee where the hell are you? You were supposed to be back here with those witness statements thirty minutes ago!"**

"Hlp."

McGee?

"Hlp, Boss."

_Hey, I knew that darkness was gettin closer!_

**Tim? Where are you? Talk to me, ****McGee! Tim!"**


	2. Chapter 2

_7:05 AM - NCIS Squad Room_

"'McNever Late' is now 'McTardy.' ," Tony hooted.

He always happy when someone else on the team took the negative attention that was undoubtedly due to be coming from the boss. It was gonna be a great day. He'd gotten in to work on time, hadn't had to miss out on breakfast or coffee. And top it all off, Probie was already in the dog house; sufficiently keeping Tony free and clear to have fun at the younger man's expense.

Ziva rolled her eyes at Tony's snarky attitude. He obviously was already prepared to take pleasure, as usual, in someone else's less than good situation. She knew no good was in store for McGee when he did show up. This day was going to be interesting. Ziva just hoped no bloodshed would take place between her two fellow teammates.

Gibbs held his tongue, but his eyes spoke volumes about his rising temper, compliments of the now late Agent. Restless without an open case to work, the boss man's ire was more easily sparked this morning. And, even though he knew McGee would have a good reason for being late, he was miffed that the young man hadn't called yet. That was unexcusable on Team Gibbs and they all knew it.

When would this day start going right? Tim had known the day was going to be a bad one when he'd somehow managed to oversleep. Normally, his alarm clock worked with no problem. Since he kept it set early enough to give him time to get showered, dressed, eat breakfast and still be early for work; oversleeping like this set the mood for the day; badly.

But, that wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst part was gonna be when he had to confess to Gibbs that somehow, somewhere, he'd misplaced his Agency cell phone since leaving work last night. Knowing he needed to be reachable at all times, he now had to stop and grab a burn phone until he could get his legitimate one replaced. Concerned with having to still drive all the way to work, Tim quickly stowed the temporary phone on the visor; his new place of choice for his phone, out of sight, yet reachable. The reasons for that had come straight out of that nightmare with that assassin. In a hurry to get going, he barely took the time to rip the box open, dump out the pieces, and hook up the charger, before he drove back out into traffic. Honking horns all around him distracted him from the important step he had yet to do. It was a mis-step he would not soon forget.

When he finally rushed into the squad room, some thirty minutes late, he swore he saw steam coming from Gibbs' ears. He'd known he was in deep trouble and he could almost hear Tony's gears grinding from overload, with the countless barbs and remarks he'd been thinking of, chomping at the bit to throw at him. Thankfully, Ziva was kind enough to settle for silently offering him an encouraging smile. It was as if she'd chosen to be the calm before the storm. Tim was grateful for it.

**"Something wrong with your phone, Agent McGee?"**

Gibbs' bark from clear across the squad room, the second Tim stepped off the elevator dropped Tim's heart clear down to his feet. _Yeah, his goose was cooked now. _Tim hurried over to Gibbs' desk as quickly as he could, not even bothering to drop his backpack off his shoulder at his own desk, first.

"Um. Boss. I'm really sorry. Can I talk to you. In private?" Tim forced himself to look GIbbs in the eye as he made his request.

Gibbs glared at his agent, anger radiating off of him in waves.

**"You've wasted enough time this morning. Whatever you need to say, just say it, McGee!" **Gibbs bit out, not happy at this unusual request.

"Boss, I've… I've lost my phone. My alarm clock didn't go off. And traffic was at a standstill." Tim rushed to get it all out. After all, it took all three events to add up to the bad place he was in with his thoroughly ticked off boss.

"Anything **else**? Gibbs asked sarcastically. "Or do you think you've come up with enough?"

"Boss, you know…." Tim tried to remind his boss that he would never make any of this stuff up.

**"McGee! Enough!"** Gibbs barked as he sat down in his chair and turned his focus onto his computer, clearly dismissing both his agent and the subject matter at hand.

Tim scurried to his desk, dropped his backpack unceremoniously on the floor and plopped down in his chair, quickly firing up his computer work station; deliberately ignoring the snickering coming from the Senior Field Agent sitting at the next desk over. Tim guessed he should consider himself lucky that Tony had yet to open his mouth.

"So, McTardy…" Tony's drawled out voice almost boomed in the squad room.

**"Can it, DiNozzo!"** Gibbs barked. He wasn't in the mood to hear any of that crap this morning. Thankfully, his phone rang; in all probability sparking the beginning of a new case.

"Yeah. Gibbs! Got it. We're on our way."

Before he'd even put his phone down, Tony and Ziva were standing ready to join him in their trek to the elevator. Although they had to make darn sure they were at the top of their game now, there was no way they were gonna risk Gibbs' ire when it was already fired up over McGee. They'd leave that to the Probie, since he was already well on his way to the dog house anyway.

Tim, was still trying to play catch up, with logging on to his computer, listening to his voicemail messages and mistakenly not paying attention to what was going on around him. Suddenly, the room got eerily quiet and Tim once again, felt his heart plummet down to his toes. Somehow, without even moving from his chair, he'd screwed up again; he just knew it. Sure enough, as he turned to look over at Gibbs' desk, his field of vision was interrupted by the boss himself.

"Not bad enough you were 30 minutes late this morning, now you're waiting for an engraved invitation, McGee?" Gibbs bit out with anger as he dropped a cell phone kit on Tim's desk with a thud. He quickly turned on his heel, and headed to the elevator with Tony and Ziva nipping at his hels.

"No, Boss. I'm sorry." Tim offered genuinely, even though he knew Gibbs hated apologies. Tim just couldn't go without offering one when he'd screwed up; like now.

He scrambled to his feet, struggled pick up the box and snatch his backpack and head to the elevator all in record speed; only to watch Gibbs allow the elevator to leave without him. Now he had to triple time his flight down the stairs so he could get out there without holding them up any further. _Man, I hate days like this! Something tells me this one's only gonna get worse!_


	3. Chapter 3

Somehow, the determination borne of not wanting to hear Gibbs anger directed at him again, spurred Tim's feet fast enough, that he made it to the car before Gibbs managed to set it in drive; barely. Quickly buckling up, he then set about opening his cell phone kit. Knowing he would have to actually open his mouth to speak when he was ready for Ziva to charge it up for him, he could only send up a silent thank you that she was riding shotgun and not Tony.

Once that uncomfortable and embarrassing chore was done, with everyone else remained surprisingly quiet, the ride out to the crime scene was downright uncomfortable. Had Tim missed something? Since when did tony and Ziva not carry on or talk in the car? Oh, well, he sure wasn't gonna mess with the silence. Silence was a darn site better than being barked at or being humiliated and harassed.

The crime scene was a nice house in an even nicer neighborhood. The homes were all brick fronts and the yards were immaculate. There weren't even any unsightly cars parked on the street. Inside the house was their victim, a Navy Chief Petty Officer, dead on the living room floor, no glaring signs of struggle or break in.

"McGee, witness statements! DiNozzo, sketch and shoot! David, bag and tag!" Gibbs ordered as he took himself off to check the other rooms for evidence, once they'd cleared the house.

Everything seemed neat and tidy and it wasn't long before they'd completed their tasks in the living room and continued on throughout the house. It was nearly two hours later and Ziva, Tony and Gibbs were done processing the house. Ducky and Palmer had come, retrieved the victim and gone. McGee was finally coming back to the house, looking discouraged, exhausted and fearful as he did.

"What the hell took you so long, Dead agent walking?" Tony demanded.

"Later, DiNozzo! McGee, take this back to Abby!" Gibbs barked as he handed a laptop to Tim.

Tim took the bagged laptop from Gibbs and headed toward the car. Suddenly, the earth shifted and he and the laptop slammed into the ground, hard. It took a long minute before he regained the ability to breathe and when he did, Tim clumsily got to his feet, picking the now undoubtedly damaged laptop as he did. Once back on his feet; he continued on his trek to the car; only to be brought up short by one very pissed off boss.

**"What the hell is wrong with you, McGee?"** Gibbs raged.

Tim stopped and pointed to the rock he'd just tripped over, almost completely buried in the ground; sticking up just enough to catch someone unawares. "I didn't see it, Boss. I'm sorry."

"Just get in the car!" Gibbs bit out, as he turned to look for Ziva and Tony.

Hurrying out to the car, Tony and Ziva both seemed to find the very same rock Tim had tripped over; both of them stumbling over it; neither losing their balance completely, as Tim had.

_Well, that's better than nothing. _Tim silently cheered at the small slice of vindication he now felt. He carefully kept his eyes glued to his lap, knowing his flash of triumph would be blazing on his face and only land him in more hot water with Gibbs than he would ever get out of. He couldn't help it; his eyes gave him away all the time.

Gibbs toned his anger at the young agent down a notch, watching his other two agents trip over the same rock. It didn't stop him from being furious that the chance to the info they needed form the laptop was possibly gone. It was days like this that kept Gibbs frustrated with his computer whiz of an agent. His off days were a chore to get through.

Enroute to NCIS, Gibbs' phone rang and before they knew it, they were headed back; just two streets over from their first crime scene. The situation there was almost identical to the first; deceased Naval Petty Officer, with a gun shot to the head, weapon still in his own hand. Once again, Gibbs divvied up the tasks; in an identical fashion to the first one. He was curious to see if there was a pattern to McGee's screw-ups.

Almost two hours later and this time the only thing that was different at the second crime scene, besides the fact that there was no laptop; was that Tim seemed to be a bit quicker in his return from taking witness statements. Soon, they were once again back in the car, enroute to NCIS. Tim was more than exhausted. He was beyond fed up and more than ready to throw in the towel. Caught up in his unhappy thoughts; forgetting about the wonderful date he had on tap for tonight and should be happy about; Tim failed to see Gibbs watching him with anger and frustration.

"So, Probie, what the hell took you so long to get statements today!" Tony barked from the front passenger seat.

"Can it, DiNozzo! McGee, what did you get from the witnesses?" Gibbs demanded, purposefully keeping his eyes on the road as he waited for the answer.

"Nothing, Boss. It was one runaround after another, that's what took me so long. Every supposed witness claimed they knew someone who saw something important. And every time, it was a hoax!"

"So, you have nothing? Four hours of talking to witnesses and you have nothing?" Ziva asked in shock.

"Yeah, that's about the size of it." Tim admitted dejectedly.

"I would have gotten them to talk!" Ziva declared.

"McGee? You have absolutely nothing?" Gibbs demanded, suddenly too angry to think straight.

"No, Boss I don't have anything." Tim regretfully admitted. "But, then again there were several potential witnesses that weren't home at both locations."

Gibbs' only response was to floor the gas pedal; with gusto.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Probie." Tony offered loudly, as he hung on for dear life.

Once back on the Navy yard, Tim mentally picked his stomach up from his boots; took several deep breaths, and got out of the car. Making sure he'd pocketed his work cell phone and retrieved the phone box from the sedan, he headed toward the trunk; Tim soon had the laptop and turned to take it straight down to Abby.

"Hey, Probie, take this box of evidence down with you, since you're going that way." Tony demanded, plopping the box in Tim's unsuspecting and ill-prepared hands causing Tim to lose his grip on the laptop, cell phone box and the evidence box to slide clear on through; straight to the ground.

As every bit of evidence and the already damaged laptop hit the pavement, Tim's stomach nose-dived right along with it; all the way back down to his toes. Silently, but with the fear of death in the human form of Gibbs staring him in the face, Tim picked everything up and scurried off to Abby's lab. Watching him almost run from them, Tony and Ziva shared a smirk. Gibbs was too angry to speak and feared attempting to head-slap Tony at the moment. He didn't want to give him brain-damage. With immense self control, he settled for storming off for a good cup of fresh coffee.

Abby's ire over the state of said laptop did little to improve Tim's own feelings on the situation. Still, needing a minute to breathe, Tim chose to stay in her lab and use the time to program some important numbers into his new work cell phone instead of going straight back upstairs right now. He needed a breather, even if it was chock full of ranting Abby. After a few moments of relished freedom from Gibbs and company, Tim straightened his shoulders and headed back up to his desk. It was time to face the music this bad day had brought about.

Gibbs was pissed, the level of pissed that they all dreaded with every fiber of their beings. Tony seemed to have escaped the man's ire, having not done anything wrong today. Ziva seemed to be skating through some mistake free days herself so she was safe from the man's ire, too. No, once again, it was only McGee who had been having one of those bad days.

_Jeez, it had been a hell of a bad day. Why the hell had he even bothered to get out of bed today?_

_Oh, right. He had a date tonight. That meant getting through the day first. Was it possible_? Could he concentrate on her enough to pull himself out of this hellhole of a day? Though he knew better than to ask if this day could get any worse, he hesitated at this point to even ask if it could at some point start to go right for him. As he headed back to his desk, he feared what the rest of the day would bring.

**"MCGEE! Get back to that crime scene and get the witness statements we weren't able to get earlier!"** Gibbs barked angrily, his eyes burning a hole in Tim's conscience.

Yes, Boss." Tim immediately responded, standing up and reaching for his backpack. He knew what that level of anger in the boss meant. It would take a couple of cups of that coffee for Gibbs to calm down. Tim actually felt relieved he was being sent back out, alone. He didn't need or want the ridicule and snide remarks he'd undoubtedly get from the others about the lousy day he was having or the terrible, horrible mood he'd inspired in the boss. At least this way, he'd have peace and quiet in which to drive and maybe even regain his equilibrium on the day. And maybe, just maybe, he'd come back to the boss being in a better mood.

**"MCGEE! Why are you still here? I want those statements on my desk in two hours!"** Gibbs barked, with even more anger, if that was possible.

Tim jumped; realizing he'd frozen in place as his thoughts had been rolling. Now he scrambled for his backpack and scurried out of the man's sight before Gibbs could possible draw any more attention to the now dejected agent. Once safely in the elevator, Tim leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, breathing out a sigh of frustration. _Two hours? Gibbs knows darn well that it's at least a 30 minute drive out to the crime scene to begin with!_ _God, I hate it when Gibbs gets this unreasonable just because he's pissed! Feeling_ the elevator stop on the level he needed, he squared his shoulders, opened his eyes and mentally prepared himself for the task he'd been assigned.

Yeah, it had turned out to be a hell of a day, and it wasn't even the middle of the afternoon yet. Wait! Was it even past lunchtime? Because they sure hadn't stopped to get lunch. Looking at his watch, Tim groaned with the realization that it was indeed, after lunch. It was going on 1:30 and now that he had thought about it, his stomach growled menacingly, protesting at the lack of nourishment. Once behind the wheel of the agency sedan, Tim actually relaxed. He'd make a quick stop at a gas station and grab something to eat and that problem would be solved with no one back at the office any the wiser. There'd be plenty of time for him to make up the difference in the time he'd be using for the stop. But first, he would take the time to make good use of the fact that he now had a backup cell phone. Quickly, he input the team's phone numbers into his speed dial menu and put the phone back up on his visor, flipping it back up. Pocketing his work phone, he started the car and headed out.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: All OC Names are fictional and bear no resemblance to real people incidentally bearing the same name._

* * *

1_:30 PM: NCIS Squad Room_

Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief as McGee left the squad room. Maybe now, they could get some work done. Their resident computer whiz and his terrible, no good, horrible bad day, was beginning to affect everyone and not in a good way. As the once popular description ran through Gibbs' mind of the kind of day, McGee was apparently having; a small smile crossed the older man's face for a minute. Kelly had had more than one of those days herself.

The squad room was now full of Tony and Ziva trading snipes and cracking jokes at McGee's expense even while reading over what they had on the case. And with McGee not here to have to hear it, Gibbs let Tony get it out of his system. Better he and Ziva hear it, then McGee. God only knows the way the day would go downhill once those two really got started in on each other!

Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian James Ward, had an exemplary service record, no family and no apparent enemies. The second victim, Navy Chief Petty Officer Steven Ryan Andrews, was almost identical in service record, family life and enemies. It was as if they'd lived mirrored lives. Why either one of them take their own life? Why were there absolutely no witnesses so far? And why the hell had anyone given McGee the runaround about talking? The case work was slow in building, as they had to wait on Abby and Ducky to present their findings before they had anything else to go on.

A short ten minutes later, the squad room had finally quieted down and Tony and Ziva had ironed out what little they knew about the two victims after making the necessary calls to set up interviews with the CO's of both victims. Soon, the squad room was absolutely quiet. Ziva and Tony had gone to chase down what they could of those interviews. Gibbs took the opportunity to go for fresh coffee and some lunch.

* * *

Tim was actually smiling. For the first time since he'd gotten out of bed that morning. Finally, he could breathe freely and think of something that made him smile. Of course, thinking about the date he had planned for tonight had put the smile in place, but thinking back over his now steadily growing relationship with a woman who this time around was genuine and patient; fun loving and honest; a secret he successfully kept from almost everyone on the team and someone he thoroughly enjoyed being with. It had taken six months of being more than careful. It had been a soul searching, sometimes painful, other times wonderful journey. _Elizabeth._

This relationship had been a long time building. He'd taken it extremely slow and had already checked her background out, thoroughly. If she'd been another psycho, he would have found that out by now. That mistake would not happen to him again.

They'd met in the library. He'd gone there to see if his books were available there and to research how well they were going over with the library crowd. She'd been looking in the same section as his book but wasn't putting off any signs of recognizing him. Tim had taken that to be a good sign. When they'd bumped heads, things just seemed to spark between them and she'd invited him to lunch; had promised not to bite or even poison him; her laughter had proven she was joking. He had been hooked on the opportunity to enjoy someone else's company besides his own for a change.

Her classic beauty; black hair and above average height had taken his heart by storm. But, he'd held on tight to the control, this time. Every urge to kiss her or say endearing things to her, to sweet talk her; all of it was locked up tight. He had too much to lose and was not risking it again in any manner that resembled recklessness.

Elizabeth had been antsy at first; almost ready to give up after he had repeatedly refused to kiss her. But he'd begged her to hear him out; sat her down and explained things to her. Once she had heard everything he'd been through, heard about all the crappy ways the women in his life had treated him; listened to the heartbreak in his voice, seen the pain that still lived in his eyes, she had immediately gotten on board with taking things slow. The woman had not only sympathized; she hadd promised, with her heart shining in her eyes, that she would never hurt him.

Come to think about it, it had almost been like Elizabeth been desperate to make sure she didn't lose his interest. Tim had relished her attitude and her interest. It had been a great six months. They had dated regularly, spent time on the weekends together regularly, never spent the night together. Heck, they hadn't even kissed each other on the lips until they'd been dating for three months! The night before he'd taken that next step with Elizabeth: when they'd been dating for three months; Tim had confided in Gibbs, needing to know that this wouldn't turn into something that would hurt anyone on the team, needed someone to convince him he wouldn't get hurt.

Tim still remembered every bit of the night he'd had the conversation he'd had with Gibbs. It wasn't even something Tim had planned. He'd wanted to talk to the boss, but hadn't exactly known how to go about it. The opportunity had snuck up on him and it had been Gibbs who had opened the door; giving Tim the chance he needed.

**FLASHBACK***

_Seven O'clock at night and the squad room was empty, as Tim packed it in and headed to the elevator. It had been a rough week; very late nights and extreme stress levels causing the team to be at each other's throats more than usual. Gibbs had sent them home an hour ago, with the case finally solved and put to bed. Tim had had a lot on his mind and was lost in his thoughts while the Tony and Ziva left to go home. Gibbs headed out too, leaving the young man alone._

_Suddenly, as he turned toward the elevator, the view from the window beckoned to him. Turning away from the way home, Tim instead, took himself over to the window, leaning against it and getting lost in the view as his thoughts ran through his mind._

_He needed to talk to Gibbs. How could he make that happen without raising the man's ire? Gibbs always seemed easily angered when it came to Tim, so the younger man didn't approach him with anything that didn't pertain to work. But, this was different. In a roundabout way it was about the team, so it needed to be talked about. There could never be another 'Amanda' incident on Tim's conscience.._

_"McGee?" the man in question called to him in surprise, interrupting Tim's train of thought._

_Turning, he faced his boss and answered him. "Boss?"_

_"What are you still doing here?" Gibbs asked._

_"Wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere, just yet." Tim explained._

_"Okay. Don't stay all night, McGee." Gibbs replied as he headed back to his own desk._

_"Nite, Boss." Tim had answered, sorrow filling his voice as he realized he would never have the easy time talking to this man that Tony did. The connection just wasn't' there._

_"Tim." Gibbs had surprisingly returned to the window to look his agent square in the eye._

_"Boss?" Tim had asked in confusion._

_"Talk to me. What's going on with you?"_

_"I think I found someone." Tim admitted, not wanting to waste this chance with small talk._

_"Someone?"_

_"Yeah. A woman. A really sweet and wonderful woman. We've been dating for three months now."_

_"And this has you staying late and looking like the world's on your shoulders?"_

_"I can't handle another 'Amanda', Boss." Tim's tone had said it all about how affected he still felt about that horrible mess._

_"You think every woman you meet now is another bad apple?" Gibbs asked with understanding. "That what this is about?"_

_"Not quite, If I did, I wouldn't have taken the chance dating Elizabeth." Tim answered with a small smile._

_"Good for you, McGee" Gibbs congratulated him. _

_"Thanks, Boss."_

_"Checked into her?"_

_"Yeah. She's clean."_

_"Obviously, or you wouldn't still be dating her. You damn sure wouldn't be standing here talking to me about it._

_"I know."_

_"Good for you, McGee."_

_"Thanks, Boss. I almost couldn't bring myself to do it."_

_"Start dating her or run a check on her?"_

_"Both."_

_"McGee, it's been six months. You still letting it rule your life?" Gibbs had quietly admonished._

_"It's hard for me to get past people dying because of me; among other things."_

_"McGee, she didn't die because of you. She died because of who she was; what she chose to be. You told me you understood that. We talked about that already; talked about those 'other things', too."_

_"I know, Boss. It's just…."_

_"You finally took the chance and now you afraid of making a mistake again."_

_"Yeah. I also don't want to have this relationship under the team's microscope." Tim admitted._

_"Cant' say that I blame you." Gibbs allowed. "Who says you have to tell them?"_

_"How am I supposed to keep everyone out of the loop without being seen as being deceptive or a liar?. Tried it before, with my book, Boss. We both know how well that turned out! I can't go through that again. It almost did me in the first time." Tim wasn't ashamed to admit. He needed Gibbs to understand exactly how important this was to him._

_"Don't worry bout the team's need to know. They don't. You're entitled to your private life."_

_"Thanks. It'll be easier knowing that you know about it."_

_"Won't feel like you're hiding."_

_"Yeah."_

_"Trust your instincts, McGee." _

_"I'm not sure my instincts are trustworthy anymore in my personal life, Boss."_

_"You haven't had a repeat occurrence have you?"_

_"No."_

_"Then your instincts are working just fine. Maybe even better than you think."_

_"Thanks, Boss."_

_"Just remember one thing, McGee. If you're not ready to do something, don't do it. The rest will fall into place, if it's meant to be."_

_"Thanks, Boss. Reallly."_

_"You're welcome, McGee."_

_**END FLASHBACK_

Bolstered by Gibbs' pep talk, Tim had finally let his heart feel a little more secure in this relationship; step by cautious step. For him; that meant he could begin to show Elizabeth that he was getting serious. He even allowed himself to hope that she would return the feeling. The endearments had been a more recent development. His step of faith hadn't let him down. Her eyes had lit up the first time he'd called her sweetheart. They'd been using them more often as the weeks had gone by. With the smile still on his face, Tim brought his focus away from Elizabeth as he reached his destination. After all, he had a job to do.

Tim got out and went after the witness statements he hadn't been able to get earlier. After knocking on a dozen doors, and talking to just as many people, Tim finally had some statements to work with. Breathing a sigh of relief, Even though there wasn't a lot to go on, what he had was better than what he'd had earlier. Tim got back in the car and headed back feeling like he'd finally gotten something accomplished with the day.

With a glance at his phone, he realized he still hadn't stopped for a bite to eat. He'd gotten caught up in his thoughts and driven right on through. Frustrated and hungry, he tossed his phone down, only to watch as it bounced and landed on the floor. In exasperation, he left it there for the time being. Spying the gas station he wanted, before he reached the point of his trip that ran by the river, he pulled in and parked. Turning the car off, he quickly got out and headed into the store. As his thoughts returned to and focused on Elizabeth, he picked his quick lunch out and paid for it, almost on automatic pilot.

Getting back in the car and heading back out, he was no longer thinking about the case or even the drive he had still in front of him back to the Navy yard. He was too busy basking in the feelings he once believed he would never experience. 'Amanda' had almost ruined him; had damn near broken him. But Elizabeth had shown him the possibility was still out there

The ringing of his cell phone broke Tim from his happy thoughts and he could only groan. He'd forgotten to pick it up off the floor while he'd been stopped. Pulling over to the side of the road, he put the car in park and retrieved the phone off the floor. Looking at the missed call, his heart lifted. Elizabeth! She knew he was working and had promised to leave him alone until he picked her up for their date tonight. Was something wrong? Quickly, he called her back.

"Hey, honey, everything okay?" Tim had flipped his phone open and hit the speaker button, setting the phone on his leg so he could still safely drive.

"Yes, Tim. Everything's fine.I just wanted to tell you I'm out on assignment and may be too late for our date tonight. I'll call you later with a better idea of when I'll be done. You're not mad are you, sweetheart?" the voice on the other end explained.

"No, of course not! We both have jobs to do. You just be careful and call me when you're back, okay?" Tim offered.

"Okay, sweetheart. I'm glad you're so understanding. You never get upset with me." Elizabeth purred

"No reason to be. Listen, honey, I'm driving right now, so I need to hang up now. Call me later." Tim explained.

"Where are you, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked in concern. "Not somewhere dangerous?"

"Right now, I'm in nowhere land, out by Spring River. But, I'm headed back to the office." Tim kept his description of his job generalized. He never went into detail. Some lessons had been not only learned, but burned into his brain. Hell would freeze over before he allowed himself to get sucker punched again.

"Have you eaten lunch this time? You always skip lunch. You don't eat well enough!" Elizabeth worried.

"I just stopped and got a quick something at the Quickmart where I'm at. Thanks for worrying bout me, Liz." Tim replied with gratitude.

"Okay. I know you hate driving and talking on the phone at the same time. I'll talk to you later. Bye." Elizabeth hung up.

Tim noticed that he was now seeing the river coming up, along with the slightly dangerous curve that took the road close to it before winding back away from it. He quickly tossed his phone onto the seat. next to him, and watched in complete frustration as the offending piece of equipment once again bounced off the seat and hit the floor. Groaning in frustration; he pulled over to the side of the road; intent on getting his phone up off the floor.

As he moved, he heard a _**Crack**_ Pain ripped through his shoulder, nearly toppling him on over to the floor. With surprising strength, Tim managed to right himself back up, only to hear another _**crack**_ from somewhere close by. Again, pain ripped through him, this time, his chest felt like it had just been set on fire now; excruciating pain robbing him of his ability to think or even breathe evenly.

Suddenly, the car was airborne. Reacting in reflex to the pain, his body jerking, had attempted to stretch away from the pain now filling it; causing his weight to be pushed down to his feet, in turn mashing the gas pedal to the floor.

Almost immediately, as the air left his lungs in one last moment of lucidity surrounded by pain and fear; blackness sucked him under.


	5. Chapter 5

_"Hlp, Boss."_  
_**Tim? Where are you? Talk to me, McGee! Tim!"**_

* * *

Before Gibbs had even gotten McGee's name out that third time, Tony and Ziva were out of their seats and gearing up. Tony was calling for a car.

**"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! I got something!"** Abby's voice came at them in her normal above average decibel level before they could do anything else, as she nearly ran from the back elevator to Gibbs' desk.

"As do I, Jethro!" Ducky's voice chimed in with Abby's. The M.E. was also coming from the back elevator, albeit at a somewhat slower pace than their resident Energizer Bunny.

One look at Gibbs' face slowed her down to a crawl. _Something was wrong._

"Gibbs, what's happened?" Abby asked with concern. Gibbs' attention snapped to the two oncoming team members. Their timing couldn't have been worse this time.

"Where' McGee?" she asked with fear now radiating off her. It had to be Timmy. Everyone else was standing right here in front of her.

"Jethro?" Ducky's voice of concern was quickly heard.

"McGee's in trouble. Whatever you two have for us will have to wait, No time to explain. Abbs. Run the trace on this #. Call us when you get it! Check near Spring River! Gibbs urgently ordered. "Duck, need you to ride with Tony! McGee's hurt, don't know how bad. Let's go!"

"I'll need my medical bag. You have no idea at all how badly he might be injured?"

"None, Duck. He was barely able to say anything. I think he passed out. I heard the river in the background though. Hurry!" Gibbs answered as he hurried toward the elevator.

"Meet me out front, Doc." Tony said as he came back from checking out two vehicles and headed toward the elevator, handing Gibbs one set of keys as he quickly met up with the man.

"Notes Gibbs!" Abby called out. "I found one on Navy Chief Petty Officer Ward's laptop."

"I found the second one in Navy Chief Petty Officer Andrews' mouth." Ducky added before he quickly headed back down to Autopsy to get his medical bag.

"Agent Gibbs, got a personal letter here for you, It's marked urgent. That's funny, there's a handwritten note on it that says you need to open it now!" David, the mail room clerk said as he narrowly avoided being run into by the racing team.

"Give it to Abby, Now" Gibbs ordered as he kept going. "Abby, find McGee, then call me Get that open, then you can tell me about the notes. We don't have time to waste." The elevator doors closed, taking the team down to the parking garage.

Abby took the note and just for a second, stood watching the team disappear, as the tears guided by fear rolled down her face, then she squared her shoulders, wiped her eyes and stomped down to the lab. _No one was gonna get away with hurting Timmy. She would find him. And Gibbs and company would save him. No other outcome was acceptable._

Once in the elevator, Gibbs silently handed Ziva the keys; too angry and worried to get behind the wheel. Tony realized what that meant. Gibbs was scared and pissed; too much so to trust himself to drive. He wanted Ziva to get them there faster than even he could do. The boss wanted the miracle of time warp she always came close to achieving. Tony didn't blame the man; he wanted to get there twenty minutes ago, himself.

Ziva had the look of murderous intent in her eyes. When Gibbs handed her the keys, her eyes seemed to change focus instantly. Now, instead of having free time to stew in her emotions, she had a job to do, something else to focus on; something urgent and necessary. Having Tony take a second car and wait on Ducky, had given him something to do with his racing mind and raging anger and concern, too. Gibbs, even in midst of a crisis; was silently taking care of everyone the best he could. This was the first time Tony could remember being conscience of the reason behind Gibbs' specific actions in a crisis.

"Hey, it's me. I need your help. Spring River area. Got the call not ten minutes ago. Check the river. Gonna need paramedics. Call me when you find him. Thanks." Gibbs ended the call he'd made enroute to the car, for once, grateful he'd made friends with the law enforcement in most of the 60 square miles from the Navy Yard. It had taken a while, but eventually, he'd figured out being on their good side came in extremely useful. Times like this, they could even make the difference. He certainly prayed he was right about that now.

Ziva wordlessly got behind the wheel and hurtled them off the navy yard. A short two minutes later, as they barreled down the highway, Gibbs' phone rang. Gibbs put it on speaker, not wanting to repeat anything.

"Oh, Gibbs!" Abby's distress spoke volumes. Whatever it was, wasn't' good.

"Abby?" Ziva and Gibbs replied in frustration together.

"Abby, call Tony in on this." Gibbs directed.

Abby called Tony on her cell and put him on speaker and then began reading the notes to them.

****************

Note #1:

"_Hello NCIS"  
You did such a bang up job of ruining my career  
I thought it was time I paid you back._

_**************_

Note #2:

_Figure it out yet, NCIS?  
"One body look just like any other body to you?"_

_*****************_

"Gibbs, this last one is the one that just came through the mail. I've already started testing for prints and saliva and all that good stuff." Abby promised. Then she read them the note.

****************

_Tell me Special Agent Gibbs,_

_Does one **your** people look just like any of the others?  
Unfortunately, by the time you figure it out, it'll be too late for the poor guy._  
_After all, your good work must be rewarded, right?_

_****************_

It didn't take any of them long before their faces were masks of anger and concern; Tony and Ziva both respectively put the pedal to the metal as they barreled down the road, both feeling the need to get to McGee thirty minutes ago.

Gibbs gut churned painfully and he sent up a silent prayer that McGee would be all right. This entire case had been a set up. And in all probability, Tim had just walked straight into a trap. The words from the notes now rattled in his brain. They had to mean something.

Before Gibbs could even process what he'd just heard, Abby was crying out with horror

**"Gibbs! There are pictures with it!"**

"Describe them, Abby." Ziva requested with steel in her voice, compassionately giving Gibbs a chance to school his emotions.

Abby's crying became audible as she quickly described each picture she saw. Pictures taken during off-duty time: Tim walking Jethro, Tim getting out of his car, Tim playing with Jethro in the park, Tim spending time with Sara, and even Tim behind the wheel of his car. Tim eating out alone.

"Abby, any results on Tim's phone?" Gibbs asked, his voice radiating the anger and fear he felt. _It **had **been a trap and it was his fault Tim had gotten caught in it. God, please let him be all right!_

"He used a burn phone. I can't trace it!" She cried. "Why didn't he use his work phone?"

"Dunno, Abby, Maybe he couldn't reach it. Check for cell calls from towers in the area. See if you can match any to the # he called from." Gibbs ordered as Ziva floored it. "See if you can date those pictures. I wanna know how far back Tim's been targeted." Something seemed 'off' about those photos, but Gibbs couldn't put his finger on it.

"Sorry, Gibbs. I should have thought of that." Abby said guiltily.

"Just do it now, the minute you know where he is, you call me back." Gibbs answered her before he snapped his phone shut.

Fear and anger filled the silence the descended in both vehicles. Whoever this was; had clearly set their sights on one of their own. Gibbs glued his eyes to the road, watching absently as Ziva continue to hurtle them toward McGee. Sighing in frustration, fear and anger, Gibbs made a call. He'd almost forgotten about this one.

"Yeah, Leon..."


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I apologise if this is not 100% perfect in spelling or grammer. I do try very hard to edit it before I post it.  
For those of you who are along for the ride, I thank you.  
Also: For any inaccurate medical jargon or detalis; I humbly apologise. I am not a medical person._

Enjoy!

* * *

Fifteen tense silent minutes later, Gibbs' phone rang again. Looking at his caller id., his heart stopped for a second as he answered

"You found him." Gibbs stated in a shaky voice.

The long tense silence had stripped him of the conviction that they would find Tim alive. His gut was churning and his heart was breaking. Tim had just gotten his life back after that assassin had almost taken it from him; not to mention succeeding in damn near breaking his spirit. Gibbs knew that Tim had fought hard to get his life back, to find happiness. To see that life once again hurled into pain and trauma, and so soon, twisted Gibbs heart something fierce. No one deserved to keep getting kicked like Tim had been; was continuing to be.

"Just pulling up now, his car's in the river. Five miles east of the Quickstop on Second Ave. Apparently he hit the place in the curve that took the car out over the water, instead of back toward the road." the Sherriff's Officer told him, breaking into the agent's thoughts.

"**In** the river?" Gibbs asked incredulously. "How high's the water?"

"It's up to the door handles. EMT's are enroute." the man promised.

"What's his condition?" Gibbs asked with his heart in his throat.

"Don't know yet, Gibbs." The voice on the other end remained calm; the voice of reason.

The siren of the ambulance reached Gibbs through the phone and he issued one last request. "Keep me updated!"

As the call was disconnected, Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief and quickly called Tony to relay the only piece of good news they'd gotten so far; Tim had been found before the river had taken him away from them. Listening with relief as Gibbs' let them in on the news, Ducky, in turn, called Abby.

As she listened to the first conversation, Ziva put her foot to the floor, wanting to get them there right now. Apparently, Tony shared in her emotions because he stayed right with her, the two vehicles careening around corners and hurtling down the straightaways in a blur of motion, even before Gibbs had hung up from his call with Tony.

* * *

_Freezing!  
Wet!  
PAIN! Oh my God, everything's on fire!  
What the hell happened?  
OH MY GOD IT HURTS! EVERYTHING'S ON FIRE!_

"Easy, son. relax. We've got you now."

Tim's eyes popped open at the words spoken in his ear. He'd felt the return to consciousness in a blanket of pain that seemed to squeeze more and more breath from his lungs with each passing second. Only the knowledge that there were strong hands touching him; that he was no longer alone, were keeping him away from the blessed numbness of that blackness he'd been cocooned in. For the life of him, he didn't understand what had roused him from that place.

As physical excruciating pain began to rip through him and take over every one of his nerve sensors, an overload waiting to suck him under again, he remembered one thing, "Gibbs." He wasn't even aware he'd said it out loud or that it had been spoken with a voice so shaken, pain filled and low, it had almost been missed.

"Called him. He's on the way, don't you worry." came the comforting reply.

Tim crawled back into the welcoming arms of blackness that had stood by waiting to take him back.

"Don't lose him!" Sheriff's Officer, Kevin Baker, barked. There was no way he wanted to have to explain to Leroy Jethro Gibbs that they'd found his man, only to have lost him before they'd even gotten him rescued!

"It's better that he's out cold right now. We still have to move him."Senior EMT, Sam Trapp, told the law officer.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be feeling what he's feeling right now, myself." Junior EMT, Jim Bane., explained compassionately.

"It's better for him to be out right now, we still have to move him." Sam pitched in.

"Give me a minute to photograph this scene for the Navy cops he works for. They'll wanna know exactly what happened to their man." Officer Baker ordered.

"Make it quick! We gotta get him outta here. It's gonna be hard enough with the water already this high." Jim answered snappishly. If they lost this guy for the sake of the photos, he doubted they'd care one whit about those photos.

"Yeah, but at least the water being this frigid saved his life." Sam reminded him. bringing Jim's temper back under control. The hypothermia had slowed the patient's metabolism enough; he hadn't bled out and in all likelihood, had been numb from the cold, instead of feeling the pain he would later.

Ten stress filled minutes later the photos were taken and Agent Tim McGee had successfully removed from his car, wrapped in heat blankets, and was being hooked up to several i.v's to supply him with enough fluids to hopefully get him stabilized so they could load him up and transport him to the nearest hospital. Suddenly, the air was filled with the sights and sounds of two flying sedans roaring up out of nowhere, all eight tires screaming to a halt, four car doors flying open, all seemingly in tandem, and suddenly the gurney was surrounded by NCIS Agents and a medical examiner.

**"Tim!"  
"Probie!"  
"McGee!"  
"Timothy!**

The older gentleman of the group that had erupted from the cars then turned to the EMT's.

"I'm NCIS Medical Examiner, Dr. Mallard and this young man's treating physician. What's his condition, if you please?" Ducky requested firmly.

Gibbs turned his attention to what the EMT's had to say, as did Tony and Ziva.

"He's been shot. Twice. Apparently, his foot mashed the accelerator. In reflex when his body moved from the force of being shot. It's not hard to see how the car would have gone airborne and landed him in the river. I understand he managed to call you. Don't know how, but he probably saved his own life when he did." Sam replied in what he hoped was an explanation that would suffice. "We've wrapped his wounds so we could get him into the warming blankets. Even though the hypothermia saved him, his body temperature needs to come up or he won't survive much longer. Problem is as his temperature rises back up, so will the pain level he'll be feeling. I'd rather have him already at the hospital before it gets too bad for him. "

"Timothy must have regained consciousness long enough to call you, Jethro." Ducky observed as they all quickly walked toward the ambulance. Suddenly, turning to Tony and Ziva, the M.E. said something that let it show just how angry he felt on Tim's behalf.

"You find the bastard that did this to Timothy!" The uncharacteristic raging anger in the M.E.'s eyes sent home just how unjustified this attack on one of their own was.

"You can bet on it, Ducky!" Tony vowed, looking the M.E. square on with the promise in his eyes. He knew the anger Ducky was feeling because it was racing through him at the moment, too. _God, hadn't Probie been through enough? They'd barely gotten him back from that crap with the assassin and now this? When would the kid's luck turn around for the better? Please let him be okay!_

"He's soaked everywhere." Tony remarked, his thoughts suddenly drawn to the physical state Probie was in. "How far did the water get?"

"It was up to his upper chest when we got here. He's lucky. The river most likely saved his life." Jim replied.

Stepping up to his fallen agent, Gibbs felt his heart stop. The young man was so cold his lips were blue. Wrapped in the warming blankets, he looked so vulnerable and close to death, it scared him. Leaning close to him, he whispered in his ear.

"You don't have permission to die, you hear me, McGee?"

The EMT's were shocked to see the young patient's eyes pop open at whatever his boss had just whispered in his ear.

"Ha! Works every time." Tony chuckled with a deep sense of relief at seeing Probie's eyes open at Gibbs' standard response when ever any of them got hurt. He didn't need to hear the words this time, he knew them by heart.

Even Ziva and Ducky smiled as they watched the moment Gibbs needed whenever one of his team members was injured.

"Boss?" the whispered question kept the relieved smiles on their faces.

"Yeah, McGee. I'm right here. You're gonna be okay, you hear me? You don't have permission not to be." Gibbs told him sternly even as he put a calming comforting hand on Tim's shoulder.

"Got it... Boss. Sorry. Screwed…up…'gain" Tim's eyes closed again.

Tim's words truck Gibbs like a stake through the heart, but he'd have to deal with that later. Silently, he watched as the EMT's quickly loaded Tim up into the ambulance.

"From the looks of the car, he was shot either twice from behind or once from behind and once in the front. Guess, that's yours to figure out, Jethro." Officer Baker stated as he handed Ziva his camera. "I've taken the photos of your man the way we found him, before Jim and Sam, here moved him. Thought you'd want to preserve that part to help you catch whoever did this."

"Thanks Kevin. For everything. You getting here so quick probably helped save his life." Gibbs shook the man's hand and then turned to the EMT's "I'm riding with him. Ducky, too."

"There's not enough room, Sir." Jim responded carefully. He understood how this man's boss felt, but couldn't give him what he wanted.

"Ducky, then." Gibbs gave in with resignation There was no time to waste.

"I'll get you there right behind them, Gibbs." Kevin promised, pointing to his police cruiser and smiling as two more of his officers arrived to relieve him.

"Tony, Ziva, get this scene processed. Find out how many were following him and from how far back." Get everything sent back to Abby. Watch your backs! I'll call you with an update. One of you call Abby, let her know Tim's alive and..?" Gibbs looked to the EMT's for a condition to relay.

"Right now, guarded. And we need to move now!"

Gibbs looked at Tony and nodded, relaying his silent message that they tell Abby only the bare facts. She was needed to work on the case; not fall apart with worry. "Make sure you remind her that McGee's counting on her to help figure out who wanted him dead and why. We all know McGee doesn't make enemies."

As the ambulance with their fallen comrade left, screaming its way down the road, the sheriff's car following in its' wake, also blaring its siren as it went, Tony and Ziva stood watching them go. Looking at his watch, Tony was surprised to see that it had only been a short five minutes since they'd arrived, everything had seemed to be happening in slow motion. Turning to Ziva, he asked her to call Abby, as he turned to the Sherriff's officers who had been left with them to investigate this scene and discussed what needed to be done. Silently, they got to work.

"Abby Scuito" came Abby's meek response to her phone ringing. Her heart was still down in her shoes at the thought of someone hurting Tim or worse, trying to kill him. While it was good they'd found his car; the knowledge that Tim had gone airborne and landed in the river, sent shivers of fear up her spine. She'd been so worried and feeling alone she hadn't even looked at her caller id.

"Abby." Ziva's voice was a rainbow in the otherwise storm cloud riddled day.

"Ziva! Tell me, Timmy's okay!" Abby demanded as she bounced around her lab in hope.

"Yes, Abby, his condition is guarded. The EMT's said so."

"What aren't you telling me?" Abby demanded.

"Abby, we have to process the scene. Gibbs told me to remind you that McGee is counting on you to help us find who wanted to hurt him. We'll be bringing you what we find as soon as w are done here. You may want to rest up until we get back." Ziva suggested.

"Where's Ducky?"

"He has gone with McGee to the hospital." Ziva answered her. "As has Gibbs."

"Good. Okay, you and Tony be careful! Whoever did this, whoever's targeting Tim might take it out on you!' Abby warned with worry.

"Abby, we are not alone. There are two Sheriff's Officers here."

"You tell them to stand guard while you and Tony process the scene?" Abby asked.

"No. But I will share your concerns with Tony and let him make the call. He is in charge when Gibbs is not here." Ziva reminded her.

"Good! Be safe out there!" Abby demanded. "I don't wann lose any of you guys!"

"Thank you, Abby, We will be fine. I must get to work." Ziva pushed.

"Okay. Call me when you're almost here." their lab rat ordered

"I will. Bye." Ziva signed off.

"What took you so long, Zeevah?" Tony asked, drawing her name out, in the habit he knew always made Probie smile. _Please let Probie be okay!_

"Abby is very worried that whoever did this is still lurking and may possibly come after you or I while we are here." Ziva told him bluntly.

"She has a point, Zee." Tony said in all seriousness. _Why hadn't he thought of that? Gibbs did say for us to watch our backs._

"She asked if you would have the officers 'stand guard while you and I process the scene. I agree, Tony. After all, this is the middle of nowhere and we are not familiar with places the culprit could be hiding." Ziva admitted.

"Yeah. You're right. C'mon, we'll go talk to them."

* * *

The closest hospital was a twenty minute drive and with Bethesda so close to that, Gibbs had Kevin relay the message that Tim was to be taken to Bethesda. Along the way, Gibbs called Vance.

"Leon."

"_You find him?"_

"Yeah, Leon, we got him, thanks to the local Sheriff here. He's got two of his men helping Tony and Ziva process the scene."

_"How is he?"_

"Whoever did this, shot him. Leon. Twice."

_"Dear God! I thought Agent McGee didn't have any enemies!" _Leon said in shocked anger.

"He doesn't Leon. We all know, Tim doesn't make enemies. He bends over backwards to help everyone who asks him for any. Kid doesn't know the meaning of the word no. This is about me. Notes that Ducky and Abby found earlier tell us that. The one that came in the mail cinches it."

_"Do we know why? What case is coming back to bite you in the ass now? And why take it out on McGee?"_

"Talk to Abby. Read the notes. I'll call you with an update when I have one."

_"Where are they taking him?"_

"Bethesda. And Leon. Don't tell Abby any details of his condition. I need her focused on finding this bastard!"

_"I know, Gibbs."_

"I want a protection detail at the hospital!"

_"You got it. I'll send teams of two in rotating shifts."_

"I'll call you when I get an update. Oh, and Leon.

_"Gibbs?"_

"Need to call his family."

_"I"ll take care of it."_

"Don't forget about his sister."

_"Got it."_

Gibbs ended that call and then called Fornell to ask if the FBI had any cases that matched this M.O. When the older man confirmed Gibbs' suspicion that there was none; that this was targeted strictly at NCIS, he felt his anger begin to boil over even as the hospital loomed in the distance.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I apologise if the medical jargon or facts are a little twisted. I did take the time to look stuff up for this. Lots of time.  
__Enjoy!_

* * *

_Four hours later_

The crime scene was processed, McGee's car towed back to Abby's lab and processed and all of Tim's team was now restlessly waiting for news of his condition. Abby was only able to be there because she had requested that Vance give her as much help as possible with the forensic testing on everything. She didn't want to be at it all night. No, they had to have answers sooner than one person could provide.

Vance had given her all the help she'd asked for in the form of extra people who knew forensics and had even taken the time to talk to her about the notes. After talking with Abby, the Director had then gone to the hospital to talk to Ducky and Gibbs; both of whom, he'd located in the waiting room; one sitting patiently with worry written in every line of his face,while the other paced restlessly with the look of murderous intent written all over him. Sitting down with both of them in the cafeteria, making them eat something, even though they hadn't heard any update on Tim, had taken a herculean effort on Vance's part. He'd gotten it accomplished though and once he'd gotten caught up on the case as much as he could be, he had headed to the crime scene to see for himself, what had taken place out there, leaving Gibbs to check the security detail out, and be there for the update on his agent.

Tony and Ziva had been shocked to see Vance show up at the scene. Both of them cautiously processing the scene, looking exhaustively for the shell casings, hoping to find them when he arrived. When he'd noticed the sherrif's officers standing guard at the scene, Vance had automatically checked the area visually himself. Seeing up close and personal, the water level of the river, the tire tracks where Tim had left the road and gone airborne, had shaken Leon.

Seeing Gibbs' agents look so somber while they fought to hold in their obvious anger and concern, had hit a compassionate nerve in Vance. It wasn't every day that one of your teammates came this close to dying, and might still. Vance had known that worry was going through their minds and he'd felt for them. As he'd watched their progress in the search for the shell casings, he'd been as relieved as they obviously were when the two casings were finally located in the tall grass on the side of the road, some ten feet back from where the car had left the road and gone airborne.

"Good work. Anything else left to process here?" He'd asked them.

"No, Sir." Tony had answered quietly, leaving no doubt where his heart was at the moment.

"Okay. I'll take those back to the lab. You two go on and get to the hospital. As soon as Ms Scuito gets the tests on these going, I'll send her along." Vance had promised.

Tony and Ziva had gratefully gotten in their Agency cars and left with no argument or wasted time.

Vance had kept his word and it had only been a short hour later before Abby had joined them in the waiting room. Ducky had taken her aside and explained to her what they hadn't told her earlier. Hearing that Tim had been shot twice had quickly brought Abby to tears and almost to hysteria, but Ducky had managed to calm her down with the reminder that no one wanted to keep it from her; but they had done it for her own good; and for the good of getting the forensics done without her losing focus so she could be here now when it counted.

Gibbs had spent the last four hours pacing, drinking coffee and praying. He couldn't help but fear the worst. Two gunshots was a scary scenerio in itself. Added together with the hypothermia that had been bad enough to turn Tim's lips blue and it was downright frightening to consider how Tim might be faring from it. The only thing that had calmed the situation was the fact that Tim's family had been unreachable. Them not being here to be terrified and worried about him, helped keep the emotions that were radiating around the room somewhat controllable.

Vance had attempted to call Tim's parents and his sister, only to be told the three of them were on a ski vacation in New Hampshire. To make matters worse, they were staying in a remote cabin, "trying to experience the best that nature has to offer". Well, at least this way, they'd hopefully have something solid to report to them when they were able to contact them.

Ducky was the first to notice the approaching E.R. Doctor and he quickly stood and headed toward the entrance to the waiting room. Dr. Stewart approached the bedraggled group anxiously waiting for news on their fallen Agent.

"Agent McGee?" he asked only because he had to for the record.

When the entire population of the waiting room approached like a starving herd that smelled fresh meat, Dr. Stewart put his hands out to keep some space between them and waited for them to get quiet so he could be heard.

"As I'm sure you're aware, Agent McGee was suffering from Moderate Hypothermia. His core temperature was 31 degrees, just a hair above Mild Hypothermia. This actually aided in keeping his other injuries from becoming worse for him. His metabolism had slowed enough that he was not bleeding internally too badly, nor was he shivering, due to the shock his body was experiencing. "

"Now, in regard to the bullet wounds. I must say your Agent is one very lucky young man! The 1st bullet made an entrance wound on the left upper back; in a cross section of Deltoid Muscle and Teres Minor Muscle, The path of this bullet was from back to front; where it nicked the 3rd rib before it moved straight through, leaving 'textbook' indicators of entry and exit."

"The 2nd Bullet's trajectory was visible on the right; point of entry was the Clavicular Head of Pectoralis Major muscle. Had that bullet been one ½ inch to the left, it would have hit his lung. As it was, it nicked his left scapula on its' way out; the exit wound being just below that. Again, he was fortunate, with the straight path of this bullet."

"He is extremely fortunate that no organs were hit. And even though he has serious muscle damage, a bruised rib on one side and a bruised scapula on his other side, to contend with; Agent McGee is extremely lucky it wasn't worse."

"We used an Angiography to check for blood vessel damage, as well as complete x-rays to make sure we found all the damage that was done. The first step after verifying the bullets were no longer inside, was, of course to go and repair what damage we could. Then his treatment began; debris removal, aggressive cleansing, irrigation and to be on the safe side, a tetanus shot update."

"He's been placed preventative antibiotics and i.v. fluids and will be monitored for the next few days for any signs of secondary infections or delayed swelling. Barring any such complications, he should make a full recovery, He can expect to have to undergo lots of rehabilitative therapy and will need help for a while. As I understand it, he is a full-time Field Agent?"

"Not until he's completely healed up, Doc." Gibbs vowed with the tone no one ever argued with. There was no way in hell he'd mess with Tim's recovery and he would make damn sure Tim didn't rush it either. Hearing that his agent was gonna be okay lifted the world off Gibbs shoulders and brought forth cheers from Abby and Tony, as well as smiles of relief to all their faces.

"What's his room #?" Gibbs asked, unwilling to pussyfoot around about seeing his agent.

"Agent Gibbs..." Dr. Stewart tried to explain that his patient needed his rest and wasn't up to visitors.

"Dr. I do not want my Agent to be left alone, his security detail is waiting to be told what the room # is and so are we. He will not be allowed to wake up without his team there for him" Gibbs' tone once again, accepted no argument.

"Only family..." the doctor tried to explain.

"You can save your 'only family are allowed to visit' crap. His family is unreachable, snow skiing in New Hampshire. We are his other family, Now. What. Is. His. Room. Number?" Gibbs came back at the Doctor with even more force in his tone.

"312" the doctor finally relented, knowing when he needed to quit the fight.

"Make sure everyone that goes in his room, is checked by the Security Officers at his door!" Gibbs bit out, still pissed that this Doctor had wasted so much time in a pissing contest with him.

As the group headed to Tim's room, the somber mood seemed to settle back over them, as if reminding them that Tim had been through hell, had almost died, and still had serious recovery to get through. Looking through the window to his hospital room, they all seemed to take a deep breath in tandem. Tim looked so broken and sickly, it broke their hearts.

"He's alive." Gibbs breathed out, reminding them all of the miracle they'd been granted.

"He's gonna be okay"


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I apologise for the delay. Thank you for your patience._

* * *

As the team struggled with accepting that they couldn't stay here watching over their Probie and solve the case of who had done this to him at the same time, the struggle seemed to quickly sort itself out within each one of them. The need to find who had done this and get justice for Tim outweighed their desire to sit by his side while he slept. With grim looks of determination, they all left their teammate's bedside after giving themselves long enough to see for themselves that he was alive and breathing;. They each spoke in his ear, hoping he'd hear that they'd been there for him, before heading out to gain justice for him.

Without raising voices or ire, it was quickly decided amongst them, as they stood together outside his room, that they would all sit with him, in a rotation of sorts, one that even included Jimmy, in the pursuit of keeping someone at Tim's side at all times. Since the case was dragging until the forensic tests had been completed, from the notes as well as accident scene, there didn't seem like much else they could do at the moment.

Abby had brought her laptop that was linked to her computer in the lap providing them with access to whatever results came up in her absence. Gibbs took pity on her since Vance had allowed her to come out of her lab to see for herself that Tim was okay. He gave her the first 30 minute visit, in the rotation; ordering Tony and Ziva to go grab a bite to eat before they escorted Abby back to NCIS. Gibbs was now wary of any of them being anywhere alone, until whoever was responsible for this had been caught.

As his team slipped out to the hallway, Gibbs watched his injured agent as he slept in what hopefully was a healing sleep. How could this have happened? Who the hell would wanna hurt this gentle giant of a man who always found the best in everyone, even after years of less than pleasant experiences under his belt? If those notes were anything to go by, it wasn't even about Tim, it was about Gibbs. _Going after one of his own, to get to him, was a surefire way to earn Gibbs' ire and capture his undivided attention, unless you deliberately divided his attention by hurting one his agents while they were trying to solve an active case!_

Flipping out his phone, he called Tony.

"DiNozzo, you and Ziva stay at NCIS and stay with Abby when you get her back there. Help her. Don't go anywhere alone until we catch this bastard!" Gibbs quietly commanded his Senior Field Agent.

"Got it, Boss. How is he?" Tony replied and then asked.

"Still sleeping, probably will be all night. Go on, get something to eat. Send Abby back in here for her visit."

Abby came back in with fear and hope fighting for space in her eyes.

"Abby, you need to calm down. Don't let him see you like this." Gibbs quietly directed as he vacated his chair for her. As she settled in the chair, after she'd moved it closer to his head, Gibbs settled for the chair by the door, leafing through the magazine he'd borrowed from the waiting room as Abbs spent her time with Tim.

Hearing Abby's steady stream of chipper conversational words in the background as she tried to get Tim to open his eyes, needing to see for herself that he was gonna be okay. After steadily trying for ten minutes, Gibbs had heard enough. There hadn't even been any results from the forensic testing, so there was no point in dragging this out.

Walking over to her, he put his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear and propelled her up out of the chair.

"Abby, he needs the sleep. Stop trying so hard, you're only upsetting yourself. Go on back to work. You need to stay busy. Make sure you get some rest, too. I'll call you when he's ready for visits." Gibbs' quiet request brought it home to Abby how emotionally strapped they all were.

Abby nodded silently as she kissed first Tim's cheek, then Gibbs' before walking out stoically. Gibbs stepped out of the room right behind her, but only as far as the door. Looking at his Agents, he instructed them.

"When you get back there, you check in every two hours."

"You want me to just text your phone if there's no problem, Boss? That way it won't wake Tim up?" Tony offered.

"Good idea, Tony." Gibbs answered. "Set it up. I want it just loud enough to get my attention."

Tony fixed Gibbs' phone and handed it back to him.

"Okay. All set. I'll text you when we get to Abby's lab. Say, Boss, if Probie...." Tony asked.

"Yeah, Tony, I will. If he wakes up tonight, now get goin'!"

After his team left, Gibbs gave each of the agents on the door, a break, knowing they'd be better able to do their job if they didn't need to worry about needing to use the head, or feel like they were starving while on duty. The agents were startled and very grateful for this unexpected turn of events. Once that had been taken care of, Gibbs firmly reminded them of the restrictions for room acess and left them to their jobs.

Gibbs pulled the chair up to the bed so he could rest his feet in an unused spot at the end as he settled into his guard duty. Looking at his injured agent while he slept, Gibbs couldn't help but feel the full range of emotions run through him, everything from raging anger to guilt. Knowing it was better he get them under control now while he had the time alone to get it done, he first let everything roll through his mind, not trying to stop any of it. Closing his eyes for a minute, he breathed out a sigh of frustration before opening his eyes back up, back in control, and back in Supervisory Field Agent mode. After all, they called it Guard Duty for a reason, right?

The next thing Gibbs realized, his eyes had snapped open. Something had woken him up. Quickly, he looked toward his Agent, who was still sleeping peacefully. Ducky was standing at the foot of the bed, looking over Tim's chart. His face was a study in concentration.

"Duck?"

"Jethro, I'm happy to report that Timothy's condition is as good as can be expected under the circumstances. He is, as the Doctor stated, very lucky, indeed. With a lot of rest and careful steps in the right direction, he should make a full recovery."

"Good." The reply was short, but the voice was loaded with relief.

"Jethro, you cannot blame yourself. I know you. That is exactly what you are doing right about now." Ducky declared knowingly.

"Yeah, Duck. Those notes pretty much prove me right on this one, don'tcha think?" Gibbs asked with self-appointed blame vibrating in his tone.

"Jethro, whatever it is this person thinks you did, does not mean you pulled the trigger on Timothy. You cannot go there. Your team is counting on you to keep them together, keep them focused and help them find the bastard who did do this!" Ducky reminded him sharply.

As a dull pair of green eyes silently watched and listened from the bed unbeknown to the two men currently talking, Gibbs allowed a measure of his true emotions out, since it was only Ducky who was listening. They'd been friends for a long time and knew how to help each other through crisis and troubles.

"Duck, I know the team is focused already, They all want to find who did this! The facts remain what they are. The notes were addressed to us, and I was named in them. You can't deny that this means whoever did this is after me for some case we solved. Tim was just an innocent victim They went after him to get to me!"

"Jethro, you must put away the blame and focus on Timothy's recovery. You know this. I'm sure you've been stewing in this since earlier today. That's long enough." Ducky admonished him.

"Duck, you didn't hear his voice when he called me for help!" Gibbs tried to explain what part of this whole nightmare had tore at his heart."I sent him out into a trap!" The anquish was out, vented in the timber of Gibbs' voice.

"Jethro, you did not know that at the time! There's no sense in beating yourself up about it now. It won't do you or Timothy any good." Ducky tried to soothe Jethro's rising self-blame and recrimination.

"Boss."

The roughly spoken word brought Gibbs up short as he turned toward the source of it. Staring at him with tears in his eyes, was one surprisingly awake Tim McGee, injured agent extradinare.

Quickly, the boss strode over to his agent and laid a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "Tim! What…?" he started to ask..

"Please, don't do this. I hate it when you blame yourself." Tim's voice was raspy, pained and exhausted as he interrupted Gibbs' question. The tears in his eyes tore at Gibbs' heart.

"Okay, Tim." Gibbs quietly agreed. There was no excuse for upsetting the injured agent still trying to recover. "We can talk about it later."

"Can you tell us how you're feeling, Timothy?" asked Ducky as he stepped up to the bed and looked the young man in the eye.

"Everything hurts. So tired. Thirsty." The string of answers that hid nothing spoke volumes of the young man's true pain and discomfort. Tim was never that forthcoming about what was going on with him, He always thought it made him look weak.

"You've been given painkillers in your i.v.. I will go speak with your nurse and ask her to increase the dosage for you. Jethro can give you a drink. After you drink your fill, you must try to go back to sleep." Ducky quietly instructed with a pat on the arm for the young man.

"Thanks, Ducky." Tim rasped.

"You are quiet welcome young man. I am relieved to be able to have a two-way conversation with you. Please make sure that does not change, hmm?" the M.E. requested as he headed out to talk to the nurse.

After Ducky left, Tim turned his eyes back to his boss. "Boss?"

"Tim?"

"Everyone...else... okay?"

"Yeah, Tim. They're fine. They're with Abby while she's doing her thing on all the evidence."

"Can I... talk... them? Please?" Tim begged.

"For a minute, you're in no shape to carry on a long conversation." Gibbs told him

"K."

Taking out his cell phone, Gibbs called Abby.

"Gibbs, I don't' have any results for you yet!" Abby cried.

"Abby, are Tony and Ziva with you?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, they're right here."

"Put your phone on speaker and all of you listen up." The boss ordered cryptically.

"Okay, we're all listening." Abby told him after a couple of seconds.

Gibbs handed Tim the phone set on speaker and nodded at him.

"Hey guys." Tim rasped as loudly as he could.

**"TIMMY!"  
"Probie?"  
"McGee!"**

The cheerful relieved greetings lifted his spirits and a piece of his exhaustion. The physical pain remained though, and he grimaced as he waited for the team to quiet down. Gibbs laid a comforting and on Tim's shoulder and gently took the phone from his hand, stepping away from his bed so he could raise his voice without making things worse for Tim.

"HEY!" he exclaimed into the phone in a volume that, while it wouldn't wake the dead, it did break through the relieved chaos on the other end.

"Sorry."  
"Sorry, Boss."  
"I am sorry, Gibbs."

"You've got one minute to listen to Tim. He's in pain and he's exhausted. He wanted to talk, so hear him out!" Gibbs ordered.

"Okay." Came Abby's subdued response.

"Just wanted to know if you guys were all okay." Tim managed to say. Laying his head back against his pillow, he soaked up the united answers that promised him his team was okay. He'd needed to hear their voices.

"Good." Was his only answer as his hand slipped off the phone and his eyes slid closed, exhaustion pulling him under.

Gibbs ended the call, pulled the blanket up over Tim's shoulders and swept the hair back from the young man's eyes. As he stepped away from his now sleeping agent, Ducky returned with the nurse. Gibbs looked her in the eye and introduced himself, making it clear he was on guard duty.

Nurse Johnson was sweet, gentle, and understanding. She'd heard what had happened to the young man now lying in the bed and it had saddened her and raised righteous indignation within her soul. _How dare someone try to kill a federal agent while he was doing his job_! Quickly, she set about increasing Tim's pain med dosage, smiled at the two men standing watch and left them to it.

Ducky left to home and get some much needed sleep. Gibbs settled into the chairs, putting them together to make the best use of them as he could, and closed his eyes. The pair of agents on the door were alert and capable of protecting his agent. He could afford a couple hours of shut-eye. They couldn't afford for any of them to be sleep deprived while the killer was still out there.

Something startled him awake. As his eyes snapped open, his senses went on alert. Something was wrong. Vaulting up from his chair and over to his sleeping agent. Gibbs looked closely at his agent.

As his eyes took in the current state Tim was in, Gibbs' heart jumped up in his throat, just before it stopped.


	9. Chapter 9

Tim's shallow breathing and bluish tinge to his skin, most noticeably his lips and fingers ripped his heart open. Quickly, he slapped down on the nurse's call button before running to the door and yanking it open.

**"Get a doctor, NOW!" **Gibbs yelled at the agents on guard duty.

Gibbs' mind retreated behind a fog of shock and disbelief as things started happening around him. Vaguely, he heard running feet, shouting voices; saw faces, caught phrases:

_weak pulse, dilated pupils, Codeine, med poisoning, opiate, his brain... stop breathing, Gastric lavage NOW!, Narcan, shot, spray the nasal cavity. Let's go!_

Suddenly his agent was being taken from the room, his bed wheeled out quickly. Startled back into the here and now, making an attempt to shake off his shock, Gibbs went in search of some answers. He started with his own team, yanking out his cell phone as he stumbled back into a chair in shock.

"Boss?" Tony's worried voice came through the phone. Gibbs calling at this hour couldn't be good.

"You, Ziva and Abby get over here to Tim's room now Bring your gear! Give Ziva the keys!"

Snapping the phone shut, Gibbs next went after answers from the Agents on the door.

"I want the names of everyone who entered this room since he was placed in it!" Gibbs barked. "Give it my team when they get here!"

Stomping down the hall, he marched over to the nurse's station and demanded to speak with the Night Shift supervisor.

**"I want a rundown of every single thing that was done to and for my agent since he was put in that room! Every drop of IV. Fluid, every medication and every single person that entered his room and why!"**

"Agent Gibbs, I understand that you're upset. I sympathize, really, I do..." The robust woman bravely tried to calm him down.

**_"You don't understand anything_****! My agent was just almost killed in his bed; right under your nose and mine! Don't stonewall me! My agent's life is on the line!" **Gibbs raged at her.

* * *

Tony snapped his phone shut and hollered. **"Drop what you're doin, both of you! Grab your gear and let's go!"**

"Tony!"What's going on?" Abby asked in alarm.

**"You, too, Abby! Let's go!" **Tony hollered as he raced out.

Several short minutes later they were all in the elevator heading out. Tony had yet to explain what was going on and nerves were beginning to stretch tight with worry.

"Tony! What's going on?" Abby demanded.

"I dunno, Abbs. Boss called and said for the three of us to get there right now." He refused to add anything to that because he didn't' want either Abby or Ziva getting upset. They all needed to keep their heads. They'd find out what was going on soon enough.

"Something must have happened." Ziva declared with concern.

"Something bad." Tony agreed with his heart in his throat as he limited his answer.

"Why would you say that, Tony?" Abby asked with rising worry.

"Because he told me to give Ziva the keys." Tony said in a tone that expected that answer to explain enough for now.

It did.

* * *

As the team raced to the hospital in almost complete silence, Tony called Ducky, knowing Gibbs would feel better and be more able to calm down if the M.E. was there to help. Ducky wouldn't want to be left out of knowing about whatever had had happened. either. If Tim's health had been messed with, well whoever had been dumb enough to cross that line again had a date with death, through the wrath of Ducky, with Gibbs and company next in line to take them out. Tony prayed Tim was okay, but his gut was screaming at him that if Tim was okay, Gibbs wouldn't have sounded the call in the first place.

"Hello?" Ducky answered groggily on the third ring.

"Ducky, sorry to wake you, but something's happened at the hospital!" Tony got straight to the point

"Anthony? What's happened?"

"Don't know. Gibbs called, told all three of us to get over there right now. Sounded real pissed. Maybe even scared, Ducky."

"Oh, Dear heavens! I'm on my way! How long before you arrive there, Anthony?"

"Not long, Ducky. Ziva's driving, on Gibbs' orders." Tony knew Ducky would understand what that meant.

"Oh, my! I'll be there as quickly as I can."

"Ducky, he doesn't know you're coming. He's expecting Ziva, Abby and I." Tony warned.

"Noted." Ducky said as he ended the call.

A short fifteen minutes later found the team, including Ducky, racing to Tim's room from the elevator. The place was now swarming with people, most of them nurses and security officers. In the midst of it all, was one thoroughly angry Gibbs having it out with an equally pissed off Doctor.

"**Somebody needs to tell me what the hell's wrong with my agent now**!"

"Jethro! You must calm yourself. Do you want Timothy to hear you like this?" Ducky reached the younger man and placed a firm and calming hand on his arm. Locking eyes with him, Ducky firmly and quickly deflated Gibbs' overwhelming rage, but not his rising fear. Grasping Gibbs' arm, Ducky propelled him further away from the terrorized nurses, pissed doctor and very angry security guards. None of them appreciated being dressed down by a pissed off NCIS agent.

While Ducky got a handle on Gibbs, Tony calmed the security guards after he requested the details of what was going on, in a tone that made it known he wasn't asking at all. Ziva calmed Abby and advised her to wait in Tim's room and keep Tim company. As Ziva turned to talk to the Agents who had been guarding the door, Abby's scream echoed through the hall; **"Oh, my God! Where's Timmy?" **

Gibbs immediately ran to Tim's room to calm Abby while Ducky went in search of some hard answers and an update on Tim. Ziva returned her focus to questioning the agents on the door, knowing Gibbs and Ducky had things under control and that they needed answers fast. And Tony, realizing the same thing as Ziva, when straight for forcefully requesting the security tapes from the last six hours.

As soon as Gibbs got Abby to understand what had happened, he told her to take the bag of whatever it the i.v. that had been feeding Tim its' contents and test it; fingerprints drug screens; the works. He couldn't see anything else that might have caused whatever it was that had almost taken his agent's life, maybe still would.

Thirty minutes later, the chaos had been calmed; explanations given, people were being questioned and tapes were being reviewed. Calm was restored. The crisis was over, Ducky reassured the team that Tim had thankfully survived the Codeine poisoning due to the life-saving procedure that pushed the overdose out of his system quick enough that his body was now reacting positively to the treatment to counteract the near fatal respiratory misfiring the overdose had brought about.

Now all that remained was the investigation and getting Tim somewhere safe. Even amidst the fury of the doctor, pissed that NCIS had confiscated the bag of iv fluid in question, Gibbs held his ground, demanding the hospital cooperate with NCIS and not the other way around. The battle was being waged thankfully, in an office, away from sleeping patients, including Tim.

Ducky had attached himself to the young man's bedside as soon as the team dispersed to do their jobs and refused to budge Abby would have done the same, but she needed to get the iv tested and then needed to help Ziva piece together what had happened as Tony conducted the interviews. Neither Doctor nor nurse could sway their decision to conduct the investigation right then or even successfully threaten to have any of them removed because it was after all, the middle of the night. and patients were not to be disturbed. All four of the NCIS employees did get an awful lot of practice in with glares that would have done Gibbs proud.

Tony had even taken his fate in his own hands with a phone call he'd never thought he'd ever have to make. Calling Leon Vance in the middle of the night was not on Tony's list of things he wished to do in his lifetime. Then again, desperate times called for desperate measures. Tony considered this desperate; desperately out of control in terms of a pissing contest seriously getting ugly with no hope in sight for a peaceful resolution. Even though the war was in an office, the voices traveled well.

Leon hadn't put up any kind of protest or even shown any kind of displeasure. That in itself raised a red flag with Tony, but he decided it was more important that Vance get his ass in here and put out the fires and help get Probie outta here before something worse happened to him. Fifteen short minutes later, Tony got his wish as Leon made his appearance. Tony silently pointed him toward the raised voices in the Doctor's office.

Knocking loudly on the door, Vance didn't wait for an invitation before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Immediately, both men already inside froze; Gibbs because he was shocked to see Leon at this hour and here; and the doctor because he was shocked someone had just barged into his office in the middle of the night and while he was already having it out with someone in his office.

"Gentlemen, I think we need to settle this right now." Vance said calmly. "What seems to be the problem?" Leon directed the question at Gibbs, knowing the Doctor would be going off on him in a second.

"Someone in this hospital tried to kill McGee tonight and almost did! Abby's testing the IV he was given." Gibbs told him with the tone that let him know he wasn't in the mood for office politics or rank and file bull crap. "I want McGee taken somewhere safe. Now!"

"Your agent is in no condition to be moved right now! And who the hell are you?" The doctor fired the first statement at Gibbs before volleying the demanding question to Vance.

"And whose fault is that? We're moving him before he doesn't wake up the next time!" Gibbs raged.

"His Boss." Leon calmly answered the doctor with a nod in Gibbs' direction. "And he's right. Agent McGee will not be staying here. Our M.E. will be taking over his care now. I understand he was only being kept here to monitor for infection and swelling from his gunshot wounds. Now, he's got more problems. I wll not stand by and let his life continue to be in danger." Leon calmly dictated. Pulling out his phone, he made a call while staring the Doctor down, silently daring the man to keep arguing.

"Dr. Mallard, get a full report on exactly what care Agent McGee needs to fully recover. Do whatever you need to do, get a copy of his chart, secure the medication, the works. I'll be there in a minute. Prepare to get Agent McGee moved as soon as possible!"

"Director, I don't advise that we move him right now. His body's been through a terrible ordeal and he needs to rest." Ducky warned.

Gibbs looked at the Doctor, somewhat calmed down now that he had Leon on board. "Put him under so we can move him without risking his health!"

"Director, I heard Jethro's request and while it is an option, without proper transportation, we're still risking his recovery." Ducky replied before the Doctor could.

"Then we borrow an ambulance." Gibbs reasoned in the tone he used when he had no intention of settling for any other solution.

Vance looked at the Doctor, waiting for a fight; a fight that didn't come. Silently, the man nodded in agreement and picked up his phone,

Ziva seemed to be the only one not aware of what was going on, as she had her hands full with painstakingly going through the video footage. Abby was able to lend a hand after she got the tests running on the IV bag."

Thirty hectic and tense minutes later, everything was packed up to be completed at NCIS; Tim was packed up, sedated and moved out, into a waiting ambulance. Gibbs took the driver's seat, glaring at the Paramedic who'd' foolishly believed he'd be driving. Toning down his glare, Gibbs asked the guy to assist Ducky with Tim for the trip, leaving the passenger seat empty. Abby climbed in silently, her eyes filled with worry and anger together.

"He'll be okay, Abbs. We'll make sure of it." Gibbs vowed as he kissed her on the cheek and sent her an encouraging smile so she'd allow herself to calm down. He felt better when he saw that she was calming down. Gibbs knew that none of them would be completely at ease until they were all back on the yard, safe in their own building.

Tony, Ziva and Vance mapped out and gone ahead to scout the route, between the three of them, they made sure no one was tailing the ambulance or waiting to ambush it. Vance had already called ahead and had the building searched, cleared and debugged. Every able available employee on the night shift was used to get this done. None of them was told why or given any time table; they had only been told that it was a Security Breech Drill and they needed to beat the best time on record. Since he couldn't even recall ever doing one before, Vance had no idea what that best time on record actually was, if there was one. Hopefully, he'd been convincing enough that it would be done by the time they got there.

Thirty extremely tense and heart in the throat minutes later, Agent Tim McGee was safely set up in a room designed for emergency shelter in case of a natural disaster with the bonus of having electric capability. Once he'd been set up and everyone had gone back to their tasks, only Ducky remained by Tim's bed. The young man had been through hell and would not only need a medical professional watching over him, but a friend to keep his panic away when he awoke in a strange place.

Gibbs had nodded in appreciation and understanding at Ducky's declaration to stay with the young man. Heading down to Abby's lab to see what they had to work with, Gibbs finally breathed a sigh of relief. They'd done it!

Tim was home safe!


	10. Chapter 10

_************_

_A/N: Thank you so much for your patience.  
Here's hoping you consider it well rewarded_!

_Please forgive the slight backtracking here, but since Tim's harrowing ordeal would not be complete without a glimpse into things from his perspective; we're going back through the events as he experienced them and what his mind remembers and moving forward from there._

* * *

_Freezing!_  
_Wet!_  
_PAIN! Oh my God, everything's on fire!_  
_What the hell happened?_  
_OH MY GOD IT HURTS! EVERYTHING'S ON FIRE!_

**"**_Easy, son. Relax. We've got you now."_

_As physical excruciating pain began to rip through him and take over every one of his nerve sensors, an overload waiting to suck him under again, he remembered one thing:_

_"Gibbs."._

"Called him. He's on the way...."

_Ah, the welcoming arms of blackness!_

* * *

**_"Tim!"  
"Probie!"  
"McGee!"  
"Timothy!_**

**_"_**_Voices! _Why do t_hose voices pull at me! What do they want from me? Why am I so cold? Why do I hurt everywhere? Feels like my whole body's on fire! Go away and leave me here! It hurts too much to move! Please leave alone!_

**"You find the bastard that did this to Timothy!"**

_Ducky? What's Ducky doing here? I don't want come out, Ducky! Wait! He sounds so pissed! Why? What's….? _

**"You can bet on it, Ducky!"**

_Tony? He's sounds just as pissed as Ducky! GO AWAY! Don't want anyone mad at me! Leave me be! I don't understand. Go away!_

**"You don't have permission to die, you hear me, McGee?"**

_Boss? Oh, God! Have to answer the boss! He sounds pissed. Boss, don't make me come out. It hurts too much to move! What if I can't get back! I don't want to, but I have to open my eyes for the Boss. Have to answer him_

**"Ha! Works every time."**

_Tony? He's really here? Is Gibbs really here, too? Need to know._

"Boss?"

**"Yeah, McGee. I'm right here. You're gonna be okay, you hear me? You don't have permission not to be."**

_"_Got it... Boss. Sorry. Screwed…up…'gain"  
_Why is Gibbs' voice so different? Can't keep my eyes open. Thank God, the darkness is right here waiting for me. Here I am, let me back in! _

_***********_

_Where am I?  
Where is all this pain coming from?  
Everything hurts!  
What the hell happened?  
Voices!_

"...core temp is 31 degrees...".  
"...2 gunshot wounds, 1 to the back; 1 to the chest...".  
"...Angiography..."  
"...X-rays..."  
"...muscle damage..."  
"...extremely lucky..."  
"...Full recovery..."

_Who are they talking about? Where is all this pain coming from? What the hell happened? Where did that pain-free darkness go? There it is, hey, wait for me! Let me back in! Ah! Thank you!_

* * *

_Everything hurts.  
What the hell happened?  
Where am I?  
Feels like a bed.  
What the hell…?_

**Jethro, I'm happy to report that Timothy's condition is as good as can be expected under the circumstances. He is, as the Doctor stated, very lucky, indeed. With a lot of rest and careful steps in the right direction, he should make a full recovery."**

_Duck?! And he's talking to Gibbs? About me? Boy, McGee, fall asleep and you miss everything! Thank God for Ducky. Can always count on the truth from him_.

**"Good."**

**"Jethro, you cannot blame yourself. I know you. That is exactly what you are doing right about now."**

_Wait, Gibbs thinks this is his fault? Why?_

**"Yeah, Duck. Those notes pretty much prove me right on this one, don'tcha think?"**

_Notes? What notes?_

**"Jethro, whatever it is this person thinks you did, does not mean you pulled the trigger on Timothy. You cannot go there. Your team is counting on you to keep them together, keep them focused and help them find the bastard who did do this**!"

_Wait, Gibbs thinks this happened because someone's after him? Oh, right, best way to get to Gibbs is to go after one of us._

**"Duck, I know the team is focused already, they all want to find who did this! The facts remain what they are. The notes were addressed to us, and I was named in them. You can't deny that this means whoever did this is after me for some case we solved. Tim was just an innocent victim they went after him to get to me!"**

_You'll find whoever it is, Boss. I know you will._

**"Jethro, you must put away the blame and focus on Timothy's recovery. You know this. I'm sure you've been stewing in this since earlier today. That's long enough."**

**"Duck, you didn't hear his voice when he called me for help! I sent him out into a trap!"**

_God, I hate it when he feels this way because of me, not that he's ever had reason to before. I have to stop this. Can't handle the anguish he's not hiding. Maybe he'll listen to me for once._

**"Jethro, you did not know that at the time! There's no sense in beating yourself up about it now. It won't do you or Timothy any good."**

_Right, here's my chance! It's now or never! _

"Boss."

_Wow, that hand on my shoulder wasn't expected. _

"Tim!"

"Please, don't do this. I hate it when you blame yourself." _Wow, my voice sounds horrible!_

_"_Okay, Tim. We can talk about it later."

_Don't think I've ever heard that tone from him before._

"Can you tell us how you're feeling, Timothy_?" _

_Even Ducky sounds worried!_

"Everything hurts. So tired. Thirsty

"You've been given painkillers in your i.v. I will go speak with your nurse and ask her to increase the dosage for you. Jethro can give you a drink. After you drink your fill, you must try to go back to sleep_." _

"Thanks, Ducky."

_Damn, my throat hurts!_

"You are quite welcome young man. I am relieved to be able to have a two-way conversation with you. Please make sure that does not change, hmm?"

"Boss?"

"Tim?"

"Everyone...else... okay?"

"Yeah, Tim. They're fine. They're with Abby while she's doing her thing on all the evidence."

"Can I... talk... them? Please?"

"For a minute, you're in no shape to carry on a long conversation."

"K."

"Abby, are Tony and Ziva with you?" Gibbs asked. "Put your phone on speaker and all of you listen up."

_Gibbs has handed me the phone, now. Can I do this? My voice is horrible. Gibbs is nodding at me, I really need to hear their voices. It should only take a minute. Then I can sleep!_

"Hey guys." _Oh, yeah, my voice definitely sounds like crap._

**_"_****TIMMY!"** - _Abby's voice still sounds like beautiful music_  
**"Probie?"** - _Tony actually sounds concerned_  
**"McGee_!"_**_ - Ziva. Sounds like she's relieved._

_They're y happy to hear from me. If only…. Maybe they're not all pissed at me? Wish I didn't hurt like hell all over! So tired!!_

_Another comforting hand on my shoulder. The phone's slipping from my hand, No, wait, Gibbs' took it. Okay._

"HEY!" "You've got one minute to listen to Tim. He's in pain and he's exhausted. He wanted to talk, so hear him out!"

_The phone's back. I can do this! Don't have much of a voice; hope they can hear me._

"Just wanted to know if you guys were all okay."

_Wow, I sound like crap!_

"We're fine, Timmy."  
"We're fine, Probie."  
"We are just fine, McGee."

_So tired! Thank God, they're all safe! Say something else to them._

"Good."

_So tired. Oh, good, the darkness is back Here I am!! Let me back in, please! Ah! Thank you!_

*******************

_"Where are you, sweetheart? Not somewhere dangerous?"_

_"Right now, I'm in nowhere land, out by Spring River. But, I'm headed back to the office." _

_"I just stopped and got a quick something at the Quickmart where I'm at."_

_**Crack**_

_Pain ripping through my shoulder, nearly falling over to the floor._

_Sitting back up,_

_**crack** from somewhere close by._

_More, pain! , Now my chest feels like it's on fire!_

_Excruciating pa!n!_

_Can't' think!_

_Can't breathe!_

_Oh, God, everything hurts!_

_Car's flying!_

_Darkness invades. _

_***************_

_Can't breathe!  
The walls are closing in!  
Why can't anyone help me?  
I can't breathe!  
Somebody help me!_

**"Get a doctor, NOW!"**

_Gibbs? Boss!! Boss, help me! I can't breathe!_

_************_

**No! Help me! Can't breathe! Boss!**

Timothy, you're all right dear boy. Relax." Ducky tried in vain to calm Tim from the depths of his apparent nightmare.

"Duck?" Gibbs asked with concern as he entered Tim's safe recovery room within the secure facility of NCIS. It only took a second of Tim's continued stress-filled cries from wherever his mind had taken him, before Gibbs understood the problem.

**No! Boss! Can't breathe! Help me! **

Calmly and with a steady voice, the boss did what he could to calm the young man struggling to breathe even in his sleep.

"McGee. You're safe now. Breathe. That's it. Breathe in. breathe out. Relax." the soothing steady voice and the calming comforting hand of his boss seemed to do the trick in getting Tim to relax. Soon, the young man was peacefully sleeping once again.

"Duck. How long's that been going on?" Gibbs asked in concern.

"That was the first time since we brought him here, Jethro. I've administered another sedative so he'll sleep more soundly. His body needs all the help it can get to recover." Ducky answered as calmly as he could considering how shaken he was at his inability to calm Timothy down.

"Don't worry about it, Duck. I think he's used to me barking at him, calling him to attention, so to speak." Gibbs explained. "Why don't you go take a break? I'll sit with him till you get back. You've done all you can for him for now, right?"

"Yes, Jethro. I have. He should sleep for the next four hours or so with no problem. Thank you. I shall enjoy the break." Ducky admitted with a grimace as his joints and bones creaked with the movement after sitting still for so long.

"No problem, Duck. Take your time."

As Gibbs settled in to watching over Tim as the young man slept, it wasn't' long before the sleep his agent was getting, became less than restful. As his body tensed and grew restless, the young man's head began to toss back and forth and his eyes fluttered beneath their lenses.

_"Elizabeth!"_

_"Where are you, sweetheart? Not somewhere dangerous?"_

_"Right now, I'm in nowhere land, out by Spring River. But, I'm headed back to the office." _

_"I just stopped and got a quick something at the Quickmart where I'm at."_

_**Crack**_

_Pain ripping through my shoulder, nearly falling over to the floor._

_Sitting back up,_

_**crack** from somewhere close by._

_More, pain! , Now my chest feels like its on fire!_

_Excruciating pa!n!_

_Can't' think!_

_Can't breathe!_

_Oh, God, everything hurts!_

_Car's flying!_

_Darkness invades. _

Gibbs felt his heart stop as Tim's strangled cries erupted once again from his dream filled sleep.

Elizabeth!

How could he have forgotten? Tim'd been dating her for several months now. His agent had talked to him about her a couple of months ago; as he tried to work through his fears and insecurities from the last time he'd dated. Tim had never given him his girlfriend's phone # or even a last name. How was he supposed to find this woman when Tim had kept his relationship private? Did Gibbs have the right to break that confidentiality not? Was it even necessary? Funny thing, no one had called the squad room looking for Tim since the young man had gotten shot.

Gibbs' phone rang as he sat there thinking through everything he knew about Tim's case so far.

"Yeah, Gibbs." He answered quietly.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby yelled into the phone either in excitement or anger, he couldn't tell which.

"Abby! Quiet down! Tim's sleeping!" Gibbs ordered in his no nonsense tone.

"Oops, sorry. But, I've been looking through all of the stuff that Tony and Ziva pulled from the car.

"And?" Gibbs pushed.

"Tim lied."

"Wanna repeat that, Abby?" 

"Gibbs! Didn't Tim tell you he lost his work cell phone this morning?"

"Yeah, Abby, he did." Gibbs answered impatiently.

"Gibbs, I found his original cell phone!

"Where, Abby?" Gibbs asked in as calm a voice as he could handle. There had to be a good reason for this. Tim wouldn't lie about losing his phone like that.

"In the trunk of the car, Gibbs; in his bag!" Abby cried, obviously upset at where the evidence was leading. "Gibbs! Why would Timmy lie about losing his phone? And since when does he lie to you, of all people?"

"He doesn't, Abby. You know that." Gibbs reminded her.

"But, Gibbs! Evidence doesn't lie!" Abby threw back at him in despair.

"No, it doesn't, Abby. But neither does Tim."


	11. Chapter 11

Gibbs' head was spinning. Snapping his phone shut, he quickly looked over at his recovering agent, to find him no longer peacefully sleeping as he should be, but actually grimacing in pain and trying hard to hide it.

"Hey, Tim. Ducky gave you a sedative, are you still in so much pain, you can't sleep?" Gibbs asked quietly in concern.

Tim silently nodded his head as tears of pain slipped down his pain pinched face.

"Ok, son, I'll get Ducky back here; see what we can do, okay? Just try to relax." Gibbs soothed as he flipped his phone back open and called the M.E. Even as he waited for Ducky to answer, Gibbs put a comforting hand on Tim's shoulder and squeezed supportively. "It's gonna be okay, we'll take care of you."

"Jethro? Is something wrong with Timothy?" Ducky answered without wasting any time.

"Yeah, Duck, your sedative's not working. He's awake and in serious pain." Gibbs answered solomnly as he kept his compassion filled eyes glued to his agent in case the young man looked his way.

"I'll be right there!" Ducky said with worry.

Snapping his phone shut again, Gibbs put it away and sat down next to his agent, on the bed, bringing his now free hand up to Tim's

"Here, if you need to grab something to ride it out til Ducky can help, just squeeze my hand." Gibbs gently offered.

"Ss.. Okay... Fine...Boss..." Tim managed to say between the waves of pain that were crashing through him. "Where....?"

"Safe. Now, relax. Stop trying to be tough. Nothing wrong with needing to express the pain, Tim. Might actually help."

"K." was all Tim managed to allow himself in response. Even as the tears continued to flow and the pain remained etched in his face, Tim stocially tried to ride it out silently.

With Tim fighting so hard to stay strong, Gibbs felt compelled to silently offer more in a way that he wouldn't refuse. Relocating himself to the chair beside the bed, Gibbs sat right behind Tim's shoulders and wrapped his arms around the young man's shoulders and held him securely and continued to talk quietly to him, promising him that he'd be okay, that he wouldn't be left alone and that they'd do what they could to ease his pain. As he continued to do this, another thought popped into Gibbs' head. While the poor kid was awake, even in pain as he was, he needed to be asked this question.

"Tim. I know you're hurting, but I have to ask. I need Elizabeth's # so I can let her know you're okay." Gibbs gently pushed him since he thought it was seriously important for the young man.

Surprisingly, Tim vehemantly shook his head in refusal. "No!" was the audible response he pushed himself through the pain to express..

"Ok, Tim. We'll talk about it when you're not in so much pain." Gibbs soothed as he continued to hold onto him so he'd have something to help him ride it out.

Duky arrived and promptly checked Tim's vitals while apologising to the young man for his pain. The M.E was nearly distraught at the sight of his patient in so much unexpected pain. The young man should have been blissfully asleep, not fighting through this! "I honestly, don't understand why the sedative did not work for you, my dear boy. I've discussed it with your emergency room doctor and we both agree that I am able to give you just a bit more. Hopefully, it will make the differnce for you. I am so terribly sorry, Timothy."

"Not...your...fault..." Tim manged in gasps between pain-filled breaths.

"Please, Timothy, save your breath. Try to relax, Why don't you squeeze Jethro's hand to ease some of the pain?" Ducky advised as he valiantly smoothed out his expression for Timothy's sake as he got straight to work. While Ducky quickly administered the small dose of additonal sedative Gibbs continued to hold on to his agent in an attempt to comfort him. Thankfully, the extra dose seemed to help almost immediately. As Tim's body slackened in Gibbs' arms and the young man's breathing evened out, the pain eased from Tim's features and his eyes began to drift close. Tim's whispered words came as no surprise.

"Thank you."

Ducky was almost beside himself with emotions, so angry and upset that Tim had had to go through that, it was all Gibbs could do to calm the M.E. down.

"Ducky! Don't do this. You heard what Tim said. It _wasn't_ your fault!" The need to keep his voice down hindered Gibbs' ability to successfully get through to his friend.

A knock on the door disturbed them, sending a sliver of anger through Gibbs at the interruption. As he snapped the door open, he was surprised to find Abby and Tony there. Before they could speak, Gibbs spoke quietly but with steel in his voice.

"Get Palmer up here, now! "

Ducky looked at Gibbs in shock. "Jethro, I..." Ducky tried to respond.

"No, Duck! You need a break! You're no good to anyone when your this upset. Until you can calm down and relax, I don't want you back in here." Gibbs told him quietly and and with a comforting arm around the older man's shoulders. "You need to accept that Tim was right. This was not your fault! We need you to help us take care of him. Don't forget that. Now, go, take a break."

"Yes, I believe I do need to calm down, Jethro. Thank you." Ducky finally admitted with his heart still on his sleeve.

"Anytime, Duck." Gibbs told him with a comforting pat on the shoulder and an encouraging smile.

As Palmer arrived with worry on his face, Gibbs calmly drew him into the room and pointed him in Ducky's direction, leaving the explaining up to the Doc. While Ducky talked to Jimmy, Gibbs stepped out into the hall and let Abby and Tony say what they needed to tell him.

"Gibbs!

"Abby, calm down. We just got Tim back to sleep and with all the pain he's in, the last thing he needs, is to wake back up anytime soon." Gibbs warned her.

"On, no! Oh, Timmy!" Abby got sidetracked while her emotions ran away from her at the thought of her Timmy in pain.

"Abby!" Gibbs growled warningly.

"Sorry, Gibbs. Okay. So, we have two shooters, Gibbs. One of them shot Timmy from behind and the other one shot him from in front of the car. Which fits with his gunshot wounds, right?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, that fits. Any idea who it is?" Gibbs pushed.

"Not yet, Boss. But I have an suggestion." Tony offered.

"Spit it out." the boss direc ted more quietly than usual.

"It's the exact wording of the notes, Boss. There's something to it, I just know it." the Senior Field Agent explained.

"Ok, Tony go with your gut on this one. No one leaves here alone and without telling me!" Gibbs ordered.

"Got it, Boss." Tony promised.

"Abby, I want you to take Ducky to the breakroom and sit with him, keep him company. Tony, spare a few minutes to go with her, get Ziva on it too." Gibbs said in what had to be the strangest request he'd ever made of them.

"Boss?  
"Gibbs?"

"Let's just say, Ducky could use a little cheering up right about now." Gibbs said cryptically.

At the puzzled looks he got, Gibbs relented and explained. They'd be better able to help Ducky if they knew what the problem was anyway. He knew if they were aware of the problem, they wouldn't push Ducky to talk about it.

"Look, Ducky gave McGee a sedative and I sent him on a break. The sedative didn't work and Tim woke up in serious pain. Ducky blames himself."

"Got it! Don't worry, Boss. We'll take care of him" Tony promised with the emotion of an understanding and compassionate son now intent on taking care of an emotionally overwrought Uncle.

"C'mon, Ducky, we all need a coffee break." Abby urged the M.E. as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle and began propelling him out of the room. As Tony backed her up and they departed with Ducky, Palmer sat down and began his vigil with a vengence.

"Palmer." Gibbs said quietly.

"Yes, Agent Gibbs?" Jimmy timidly asked as he bit the bullet and made himself look up at the older man he was still so petrified of. Here he was, now responsible for the care of one of this man's agents and Jimmy knew he was also putting himself in the line of fire, but what choice did he have?

"Nothin' to be scared of. You'll know when you're needed. Trust your instincts. Relax." Gibbs tried to calm the young man's obvious nervousness.

"Thank you, Sir. It's just..." Jimmy struggled for the words as Gibbs' uncharacteristically soothing words threw him off balance.

"Just what, Jimmy?" Gibbs' quiet tone unnerved Jimmy. He hadn't heard it since that shooter had been after him, keeping in fear for his life a couple of years aog. Well, no, he'd heard it from the man when they'd found him out about his relationship with Michelle, too.

" I don't want to... you know..." Jimmy hedged.

"You don't wanna be the one to make a mistake. None of us do. Relax. If you're not comfortable having to do something for Tim, just call Ducky if you have to. Nothing to be scared about, Jimmy. Staying scared is how you screw up." Gibbs told him in that same quiet tone.

"Thanks, Agent Gibbs." Jimmy said quietly.

"No problem, Jimmy. Since you've got this covered, I'm gonna slip out for a minute. Any medical problem that you can't deal with, you call Ducky." Gibbs said with an encouraging smile.

"Yes, Sir." Jimmy said as Gibbs left the room.

Jimmy glued his eyes to Tim, unwilling to miss any sign of trouble.


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: Thank you all for your patience._  
_A special "Thank You" goes out to chelsea1234 & Shelbylou, for your help with this chapter._

* * *

Gibbs took himself out for a much needed fresh cup of coffee. This case; the murders and Tim's close call with death had everyone far enough off balance; it had Gibbs feeling like they were all falling in with some twisted game the bastards behind this were playing with them. He had to admit to himself, he was still reeling from Ducky's reaction.

In all the years Gibbs had known the Medical Examiner, Ducky had rarely, if ever, gotten that upset. Gibbs may not be a doctor but even he knew that different medications affected people differently, so it went without saying, that Ducky knew it too. Obviously; having seen where Tim landed out there where he'd been so ruthlessly shot at, topped off by the attempt on the young man's life at the hospital had thrown Ducky for quite a loop. Hell, they were all shaken by it. They would need to pull themselves back together quickly and figure this out before someone else got hurt or worse.

The strange pieces of this puzzle weren't just piling up; they also weren't sitting right with Gibbs' gut. First, there was the cell phone mystery. If Tim said he lost it, then he honestly couldn't find it when he'd been looking for it. This meant whoever was behind this was close enough to him or had gotten close enough to him to get their hands on it without Tim noticing long enough to notice. Unless there was a chance that the young man had accidentally forgotten somewhere or walked away from it for a minute and it had been taken then. But, that wouldn't explain how it got back into his gear bag without him realizing it. Everyone knew that Tim was never that careless with his work phone, anyway, so that possibility, in fact, wasn't even a possibility at all. The answer had to be in finding who was close enough or had gotten close enough to Tim to be able to get their hands on his phone without him having a problem with it and get their hands on his bag that would want to hurt him. Who did Tim know that hated Gibbs enough to go after one of his agents as an act of revenge?

Next up on the list of strange parts of this case, and Gibbs didn't like where this piece of the puzzle was leading them, not one bit; was Tim's reaction to his request for Elizabeth's phone number. As shocking as it had been, that only made it fit right in with the conclusion that had come to Gibbs' mind, and was setting up faster than quick-dry cement.

Did Tim know something? Had he seen who shot at him? Is that why he didn't want Gibbs to call Elizabeth? If he did, then when had he figured it out? If she was behind it, they would have to find her. The fact that she hadn't called looking for the near fatally wounded young man, still bothered Gibbs. It left too many unanswered questions and the only person who could answer any of them was in too much pain to be put through any hard questions he wasn't sleeping.

They would have to figure out more of the pieces before they drug him through any theories. Especially, if Gibbs was wrong. The last thing he wanted to do was cause the young man pain over this if he didn't have to. They had to protect him and themselves from that slim chance that Gibbs was wrong. But, the likelihood of that being the case was extremely slim and Gibbs knew it.

If this were any other victim, they'd be storming the gates of whatever avenue of information they had to solve it; personal invasion of privacy be damned. This shouldn't be handled any different. If at all possible, they would do this thoroughly without hurting Tim. The team had to get to the bottom of it any way they could. They would have to go through Tim's phone, as much as it would bother all of them to do it. How could they chase down this theory without violating Tim's privacy?

Yet another piece to this nightmare was the timing of the shooting. For Tim to have gotten shot twice the way he did, once in his chest and once in the back; someone had to be sitting there waiting for him; probably more than one some ones. It had been an ambush; a planned one, at that. Who knew his agent's exact location at that moment? It could have only been someone he would have called or who would have called him.

The more Gibbs agonized over it, the more he came back to the same unpleasant; hell, downright painful conclusion. Tim's Elizabeth had something to do with this attack on his agent. Somehow, the last frustrating puzzle piece; the notes; fit in here. Every fiber of Gibbs' being was screaming at him that it all came back to the woman who had wormed her way into her agent's life and taken his heart.

While Tim never discussed her with him again after that one conversation they'd had here that night, Gibbs knew there was no way Tim would have been dating this girl for this long, and not have committed his heart to her. It wasn't his way.

The delicate line between safeguarding Tim's trust in them and finding whoever had tried to kill him, was becoming blurred and Gibbs didn't see any way around it The conversation he and Tim' had had about this those three months ago came back to haunt him now:

_"I think I found someone."  
"Someone?"  
"Yeah. A woman. A really sweet and wonderful woman. We've been dating for three months now."  
"And this has you staying late and looking like the world's on your shoulders?"  
"I can't handle another 'Amanda', Boss."  
"You think every woman you meet now is another bad apple? That what this is about?"  
"Not quite, if I did, I wouldn't have taken the chance dating Elizabeth."  
"Good for you, McGee"  
"Thanks, Boss."  
"Checked into her?"  
"Yeah. She's clean."  
"Good for you, McGee."  
"Thanks, Boss. I almost couldn't bring myself to do it."  
"Start dating her or run a check on her?"  
"Both."  
"McGee, it's been six months. You still letting it rule your life?"  
"It's hard for me to get past people dying because of me; among other things."...  
"McGee, she didn't die because of you. She died because of who she was; what she chose to be."  
"I know, Boss. It's just…."  
"You finally took the chance and now you afraid of making a mistake again."  
"Yeah." _

_"It'll be easier knowing that you know about it."_

_"Trust your instincts, McGee."  
"I'm not sure my instincts are trustworthy anymore in my personal life, Boss."  
"You haven't had a repeat occurrence have you?"  
"No."  
"Then your instincts are working just fine. Maybe even better than you think."  
"Thanks, Boss."  
"Just remember one thing, McGee. If you're not ready to do something, don't do it. The rest will fall into place, if it's meant to be."  
"Thanks, Boss. Really."  
"You're welcome, McGee."_

It tore at Gibbs' heart to think that the first woman Tim attempted to seriously date since he'd almost been killed by the last one, would wind up being yet another painful journey down that road for the young man. The poor guy had been so careful and so cautious. Would he survive this if she was involved with trying to kill him?

This time was so much worse because his agent was the fall guy for something Gibbs had unknowingly done. Gibbs feared the answer to his questions as much as he feared his agent's reaction to the situation, should he be right. How does one survive a second woman being given your heart and trust, only to have her try to kill you? The boss had never before prayed so hard to be wrong.

As he arrived back in the squad room, Gibbs was reminded by his team's absence, that they were with Ducky, he quickly returned to his injured agent's recovery room, anxious to see how he was doing. The peaceful halls and quiet rooms bolstered Gibbs' hope that all was well. Arriving at Tim's room, he was relieved to find, that in fact, all was well. Tim was still peacefully sleeping and Jimmy, bless his heart, was still steadfastly staring at his patient, apparently too worried about missing something, to relax. Gibbs smiled a small smile and took pity on poor guy.

"Hey, Jimmy. Any problems?" Gibbs calmly asked as he laid a reassuring hand on the guy's shoulder.

"Oh, Agent Gibbs! Uh, Well, Um. No. he's been like a rock; hasn't moved a muscle the whole time you've been gone. His vital signs are normal. Whatever Dr. Mallard gave him sure did the trick." Jimmy bumbling long-winded answer reminded Gibbs of Tim's first couple of months on the team, those so many years ago, bringing a trace of nostalgic humor to the surface of the older man's mind. Allowing himself to offer a small smile, he strove to help the younger man stop being so petrified.

"Relax, Jimmy. Why don't you go find the rest of the team? They're probably with Ducky in the break room. When you find them, tell them I need to talk to them, will ya?" Gibbs asked quietly but calmly.

"Sure, Ah, Yes, Agent Gibbs." Jimmy answered as he practically flew out of the room and down the hall.

Allowing himself a snicker of amusement, Gibbs walked up to his sleeping agent and looked him over closely. His breathing still seemed normal and he wasn't moving around even now. Gibbs had gone for coffee, some 30 minutes ago and now he was glad he had. With Tim' sleeping peacefully, hopefully regaining some strength, the break had been perfectly timed. Watching the young man sleep, Gibbs couldn't help but feel heartache for Tim's future.

Although they'd watched him and helped him through tough times before; the older man feared, that this time, they may very well lose him and he prayed that this case and this close call with death wouldn't tear this young man apart. Somehow, his gut was screaming at him that he ought to know better. Especially, if he was right about Elizabeth. As the team returned to Tim's room. Gibbs immediately got back into the case; wanting it solved as soon as possible.

"Tony, get back to those notes, follow your gut and let me know what you've got. Ziva, I want those hospital security tapes gone through with a fine tooth comb! Bring me whoever carried that i.v. into McGee's room! I want an update in an hour. First, let's get down to the lab and make sure we're all up to speed on what we know so far. "

"Abby, I want you to do a trace on all calls on the phone you found in McGee's bag in the trunk. You find either of his other two phones?"

When Ducky came down the hall, Gibbs temporarily abandoned his agents to inquire if the M.E. was okay.

"Perfectly fine, Jethro. Don't know what happened earlier. Go on; find who did this to Timothy while I look after him!" Ducky replied. As Ducky settled back into his seat, once again on duty with his sleeping patient, the others went out, heading to the elevator. While they walked, Abby looked at Gibbs in shock.

"The other two cell phones are being dried out and it'll be a while before I can access any information from them. Wait! You want to dig into Tim's personal life? Gibbs! He'll never forgive us!" she accused.

"Abby, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. We need to find the person who did this" Gibbs reminded her as he pushed the elevator button for her lab's level. "We'll have to ask for his forgiveness later, after we get the person who did this."

"Gibbs, we already know they're after you! Why do we need to look anywhere else?" the lab rat questioned.

"Abby, you're forgetting something." Gibbs reminded her cryptically.

As Tony watched silently; his own brain scrambling to see what Gibbs was seeing, Abby looked at Gibbs in bewilderment. It took a split second before the light came on but then her eyes sparkled and it was clear that she had put together what Gibbs was trying to investigate

Before anyone could say anything else, they arrived at the lab's level and all piled into Abby's work space.

"Timmy doesn't lie. This means whoever did this somehow got their hands on his phone and his equipment bag without him noticing!" Abby exclaimed. "Gibbs, you are so right! It's gotta be someone he _knows_! Someone close to him …_shot_ him!! Gibbs, who would ever wanna shoot _Timmy_? He's a _good _person! He doesn't hurt _anyone!"_

"Let's make sure we figure out who did it and get 'em, hmm?" Gibbs said as calmly as he could, despite his heart filled with rage and sadness on his agent's behalf. He needed Abby to get back to work, in top form and with all of her concentration where it needed to be.

"We **ARE** gonna find out who did this to him! And you **ARE** gonna nail them and bring them to justice!" Abby declared with gusto.

"Or we could just let Ziva have 'em." Tony said under his breath.

Every pair of eyes turned to Tony and all of them couldn't help but offer a small smile at his voiced sentiment that they all secretly shared, even if it was just for a second. They all knew it couldn't be handled Ziva's way, but there wasn't a soul among them that didn't experience that moment where they wished it could.

"Who does Timmy know that he would let near his things the way this had to be done?" Abby broke the silence with the question of the hour. Besides us, of course."

Suddenly a most unpleasant thought passed through Tony's mind. Before he could stop the words, they were out of his mouth in a loud rush of sarcastic anger:

**"God, please tell me it's not another girlfriend!"**


	13. Chapter 13

Gibbs tried to keep his face passive and not let them see how Tony's words affected him. Truthfully, they hit hard, almost like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on him. The older man couldn't even find any words to ease the moment.

"Wait! You know something, Gibbs! I know that look!" Abby accused. "What AREN'T you telling us, Gibbs?" the Goth demanded"

Now all eyes were on him. Unfortunately, not only could he not lie to them; but he couldn't keep them in the dark either. However, he could make sure they didn't make it worse for Tim.

"Tim's been seeing someone." Gibbs explained quietly.

"WHAT?" Abby reacted without thinking

"WHEN? Tony's shock guided his rapidly fired question

Is it serious, Gibbs?" Ziva asked much more calmly than her counterparts.

"HEY!" Gibbs barked until they all snapped their mouths shut and waited for him to speak.

"He came to me; let me in on it three months ago." Gibbs advised.

"Why would he do that, Gibbs?" Ziva questioned.

"Amanda." Gibbs let his answer speak for itself. Unfortunately, it did all too well.

"If he came to you, Boss, he must have been serious." Tony reasoned.

"He came to me because he was thinking about becoming serious." Gibbs corrected.

"But, why didn't he tell us?" Abby demanded. "Why did he keep it from us; from me?"

The conversation he'd had with Tim about it came back to haunt Gibbs now:

_"I also don't want to have this relationship under the team's microscope." .  
"Cant' say that I blame you. Who says you have to tell them?"  
"How am I supposed to keep everyone out of the loop without being seen as being deceptive or a liar? Tried it before, with my book, Boss. We both know how well that turned out! I can't go through that again. It almost did me in the first time."  
"Don't worry bout the team's need to know. They don't. You're entitled to your private life."  
"Thanks. It'll be easier knowing that you know about it."  
"Won't feel like you're hiding."  
"Yeah."_

"Do you really need to ask that question, Abby?" Ziva asked her in return.

"What? Why? What are you getting at, Ziva?" Abby demanded.

"Hey! Focus!" Gibbs barked. "Let's get this out, now! Then we won't be talking about it anymore, clear? He didn't' tell any of you because he wanted his personal life to remain private. I accepted that and so should you! Now is not the time to be raking him over the coals about anything!

"You sanctioned him keeping secrets from us, Boss?" Tony asked in surprise. He wasn't upset about it; after all, who was he to cast any stones in that arena, right?

"Yeah, Tony, in this case, I did."

"Why? I mean I thought we are all for not keeping secrets from each other." Tony tried to reason. "And if he didn't want us to know, why did he tell you?"

"He wanted the okay from me to keep his private life private, after the beating he took from all of you the last time he tried to have a private life. Wanted to make sure he wouldn't be subjected to that again. I told him he was entitled to keep his personal life to himself. Now, can we get back to finding this woman?" Gibbs said with the drill instructor tone they loved so much.

Before voicing his next thought, he looked at Tony. "My gut says she's behind this."

"Oh, No! Not again! Oh, poor Timmy!" Abby cried.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tony exclaimed angrily.

"Gibbs, you are thinking she pursued McGee as payback for something you did?"" Ziva asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I do. Which means, she's familiar with this team. Since Tim's never brought her here or even talked to her about his work, she must have an inside source. The photos we recieved had no sign of a girlfriend even though he's been dating her all this time. Abby the help Leon left you, they get the phone records sorted out on the three cell phones?" Gibbs turned the subject back to the case before any of them could get bogged down in what this meant on an emotional level.

"They tell me they'll have it all compiled within the hour, Gibbs."

"Any prints from the car that didn't belong to McGee?"

"None."

"Got the bullet trajectories yet?"

"Based on Timmy's injuries and the bullet holes in the car ." Abby said sadly as she clicked her remote for the plasma TV in her lab. "We're looking for two shooters, Gibbs."

As the team watched, her computer program ran through its' simulation of Tim's shooting. Even as a mock-up, it was sobering to watch what Tim had to have gone through out there alone. Abby wiped the tears from her face and let her head fall down to her chest for a minute. Ziva squeezed her arm in an effort to share in the sadness they felt for Tim.

Tony's anger rose as he stood there watching the simulation. Someone did this to get back at Gibbs and it was just wrong on so many levels that it came down, once again, to Probie and his good heart being taken in, used and broken; not to mention his life almost being snuffed out; again. As hard as it had been for the kid to recover from the last nightmare, Tony doubted the outcome this time round would be so positive. Fear began to climb into the mix. Tony shook his head slight. Fear had no place in the middle of an investigation. He had to stop thinking about Probie's future and catch this witch!

"What was said here doesn't leave this room!" Gibbs ordered. "Any of you even think of ever giving him a hard time about this; you're gone!" Gibbs warned all of them.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Boss." Tony said defensively

"Gibbs! I would never be that cruel!" Abby defended her own character.

"Surely, Gibbs, you do not believe I would be so hurtful." Ziva declared just as outraged at the suggestion.

"Good. Back to work! Let's go, we need to find this woman and get her in here! Gibbs directed. "No one tell her anything about Tim's condition or his whereabouts!"

Flipping his phone open, Gibbs called Ducky for a progress report on Tim. "He's still sleeping peacefully, Jethro."

"Good, Duck, don't' disturb him." Gibbs ended the call. "Okay, back here in an hour with a progress report! Let's get to work, people." Gibbs ordered as he headed out of the lab ahead of Tony and Ziva.

"Tony!" Abby cried as she grabbed his hand before he could get away.

"Abbs." Tony answered her as patiently as he could under the circumstances.

"We have to find this witch!" We can't let her get away with this!"

"Trust me, we won't!" Tony promised. He kissed her cheek and headed out in pusuit of the woman who'd dared to tear his Probie's life apart like this.

An hour later found Tony thoroughly frustrated with his search for a case that had anything to do with the wording in the notes. Gibbs watched the younger man struggle with dealing with what this all meant for their teammate, as well as try to figure out the clues.

_*ding*_

Gibbs' attention snapped to his monitor the sound of another email.

_"So, Special Agent Gibbs, looks like you're not the crack agent you lead everyone to believe!  
__How is your injured _Squid , I mean agent _by the way?_  
_You figure out how it feels to be unfairly targeted yet?  
Guess, maybe you'll think twice before ruining another innocent person's life in one of your investigations, now, won't you?_

Gibbs growled low in his throat, his frustration and rage steadily climbing back toward the roof.

"Tony, get over here and get this put into the case file." Gibbs directed as he took himself out of the squad room for more coffee.

The words of the latest note and the words from this new email ran through his brain on repeat The more he heard them, the more his brain concentrated on the one word that seemed out of place.

_"Squid"_

_Where had he heard that used before? What case was it? __

* * *

__I think I found someone.  
Someone?_

_Yeah. A woman. A really sweet and wonderful woman. We've been dating for three months now._

_And this has you staying late and looking like the world's on your shoulders?_

_I can't handle another 'Amanda', Boss_

_Checked into her?__  
Yeah. She's clean._

_Good for you, McGee._

_Don't worry bout the team's need to know. They don't. You're entitled to your private life._  
_Thanks. It'll be easier knowing that you know about it._  
_Won't feel like you're hiding._  
_**"Didn't wanna hide, Boss."**_

_  
Trust your instincts, McGee.  
I'm not sure my instincts are trustworthy anymore in my personal life, Boss.  
**"Instincts weren't trustworthy, Boss"**_

_  
You haven't had a repeat occurrence have you?  
**"Was a repeat occur… Boss"**_

_  
… your instincts are working just fine. Maybe even better than you think._

**_"Instincts not fine, Boss."_**

**_"Glad no one else…hurt."_**

**_"Eliz… Quickmart…Nowhere…river_**

**_Headed back…_**

_**Crack****_

_PAIN!!!_

_**crack**_

_MORE PAIN!!, his chest felt like it had just been set on fire now; excruciating pain robbing him of his ability to think or even breathe evenly. _

_the car was airborne. Reacting in reflex to the pain, his body jerking, had attempted to stretch away from the pain_

_as the air left his lungs in one last moment of lucidity surrounded by pain and fear; ; blackness sucked him under_

************

_"Didn't wanna hide, Boss."_

_"Instincts not trustworthy"_

_"OW!"_

_"Was a Repeat occur… Boss"_

_"Instincts not trustworthy, Boss."_

_"Glad no one else…hurt."_

_"OW!"_

Ducky's heart bled as Timothy's sleep became troubled and the words came out amidst the young man's obvious pain. When Timothy cried out in pain, Ducky gave serious thought to waking the young man from his nightmare. The best he could bring himself to do was lay a comforting hand on the lad's up his cell phone, the M.E. called the man so obviously on the injured agent's mind, even in his sleep.

"Ducky? Everything okay?"

"Jetho, Timothy is quite diistressed in his sleep and you seem to be a part of whatever it is that is causing him this distress, if his words are anything to go by. Perhaps he would be able to get back to the peaceful healing sleep he needs if you can get to the bottom of whatever it is that's causing it."

"I'll be right there, Duck." Gibbs vowed.

As he hung up, he heard Tim's cries _"Ow! Not good, Boss." _His heart tripeed over the guilt that somehow found it's way there. Hurrying back to his stressed agent, Gibbs hoped things could be brought under control with this case, soon; questions answered, proof discovered, Tim recovering nicely.

"Talk to me, Duck." Gibbs said quietly as he entered the room.

"He's somewhat calmer now, Jethro, but he was extremely agitated; speaking of instincts not being trusthworthy and being glad no one else getting hurt. He spoke of an Elizabeth, the river, the quick mart. It sounded to me like he was repeating a conversation he may have had with before he was shot, Jethro. Was he conversing with someone named Elizabeth?"

"It's beginning to look that way, Duck. We'll know when his phones' dry out or when he tells us, which ever happens first." Gibbs told him. "He say anything else?"

"Only that he didnt' want to hide and something about a repeat occurrance." Ducky revealed. "Jethro, what is it it? You look quite..."

"It's that damned assasin all over again, Ducky! Tim was scared this was gonna happen to him again. Wanted me to tell him he could to keep it to himself, three months ago." Gibbs said quietly but with much anger.

"A new relationship?" Ducky asked in surprise.

"Yeah, Duck. Took him six months to get back in the ring and even then he only lasted three months before he doubted himself enough to come to me for advice. Hell, Ducky! I told him his intincts were working fine if her background checked out. He said it did. I encouraged him. Look where that got him! Why the hell didn't I follow through?"

"Jehthro, you've never had reason to doubt Timothy's work on background checks before. Somehow she must have been prepared for such an occurance." Ducky reasoned. "It is not your fault."

The tortured, pain filled voice came from the bed behind them: "I shoulda...checked...better."


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey. How you feelin'? " Gibbs asked as he stepped up to the bed.

"Like hell." Tim said without thinking. "Sorry." he offered as he'd apparently realized what he'd said.

"For what?" Gibbs asked in surprise.

"Everything." Tim answered as he looked Gibbs straight on. "Screwed up again, Boss." The quietly offered apology came from the same depths that the conversation three months ago had come from and it almost set more of Gibbs' heart crumbling .

"Yeah, 'bout that." Gibbs said quietly. "I want you to stop thinking that. Got me? Just concentrate on getting better and telling us everything you can remember about what happened if you're up to it."

"K." Tim answered dropping his eyes to the blanket on his bed. "You wanna statement?" Tim's raspy voice gave evidence that he was trying to push past the exhaustion and pain.

"Tim." Gibbs put a comforting hand on Tim's shoulder and looked him in the eye, compelling Tim to do the same. "I know it's gonna be hard but I need you to give us what you can, hmm?"

""K." Tim answered. "She called me right before I was shot. She asked me where I was. I screwed up, Boss. I told her I was out by the river. Even told her the store I'd just stopped at."

"Doesn't mean you screwed up. We found your original cell phone." Gibbs announced calmly

"What? Where?" Tim asked in shock.

"In your gear bag." The words acted like a whip, bringing tears of realization to Tim's eyes even as his mind fought the idea.

"That's impossible, I couldn't find it last night! I looked in my bag!" the young man rasped out as loud as he could manage.

"Where's the last place you remember it being, Tim?" Gibbs directed gently, knowing exactly what wa going on. Tim's heart was shattering amidst the pieces of painful truth but his mind was fighting it

On my nightstand in my bedroom." Tim's whispered painfully.

"Was she in your apartment at the time?" the boss' sympathetic tone pushed Tim's tears over the brink.

"Yes. She spent the night." The pained admission paled in comparison to the hurt written and etched into the lines of Tim's face.

"Probably messed with your alarm clock, too. All part of the plan to screw with your head, Probie." Tony said quietly as he entered the conversation for the first time. His heart was breaking for Tim. Needing to run things through with the boss, Tony had come looking for the man and wound up hearing the entire conversation, starting with Gibbs' belief that he was responsible because he'd encouraged Tim to continue trusting his instincts and not telling the team about her.

"God, I feel so stupid!" Tim muttered as he wiped at the tears that had slipped from the corners of his eyes.

"Tim. I know this is hard." Gibbs' sympathetic look told him he meant that on every level. "You're in pain and you're in for a long recovery. But, right now, we need you to focus on just the facts so we can find her, okay?"

"Yeah." The man answered quietly.

"Okay. Take us back to how you met her; her hangouts, her friends, her contact numbers, you know the drill." the boss directed without changing his tone.

Fifteen exhausted minutes later, Tim had told them everything he knew and had thankfully, fallen back asleep.

"I do hope that is the last inquisition you'll require of him, Jethro, I do not believe he is capable of another round of that." Ducky advised unhappily.

"I know, Duck. Had to be done, though. Kee an eye on him. Any problems, call me." Gibbs requested in a tone that suggested it wasn't the obvious problems he was concerned about.

"Certainly, Jethro."

Heading out to the squad room, Gibbs' heart ached for the young man he'd just put through the wringer in hopes he wouldn't have to ask him anything about it again. The kid had too much recovering to get through as it was .

"Whatta we got, Tony?" Gibbs asked as he got back to his desk.

"A call out. Navy Ensign reported missing, foul play suspected."

Tony answered as he and Ziva geared up and walked with Gibbs to the elevator.

"Anything on those surveillance tapes yet David?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, Gibbs. An unknown woman was seen handing McGee's I.V. to Nurse Johnson. She accepted the bag from the unknown nurse and signed for it after apparently verifying that it was the correct iv. Then she brought it in to McGee's room and the we know the rest."

"Tony, you and Ziva take the truck, I'll meet you at the scene. After we've processed this scene, you two go pick up Nurse Johnson. I wanna talk to her." Gibbs directed as he got in the sedan and headed out to the scene.

The scene of the current case was eerily familiar with it's quiet streets with no cars and cute brick houses and manicured lawns. It sent tendrils of unease up Gibbs' spine.

"Watch your backs." He warned his agents. "Something doesn't feel right."

"I hear ya, Boss. This does smell fishy."

"There is too much quiet." Ziva observed cautiously. "How is it a neighborhood with this many residences is so quiet?"

"Most people aren't home during the day, Ziva. Working class families means kids are in school and parents are at work." Tony answered.

"All of these people and no one has a child young enough not to be in school?" Ziva asked skeptically. Where's the person who called it in?"

"The woman's boyfriend called it in. He seems to have disappeared. Ziva's right. Someone should be home around here." Gibbs said. "Put your vests on before going in." We're not walkin in to this as unprepared as Tim was."

Tony and Ziva watched silently as Gibbs walked toward the back of the truck after letting his emotions be heard in his instructions. They shared a look of compassionate understanding at how Gibbs was feeling and what Tim had to have gone through before they tabled their reactions and followed in Gibbs' footsteps to get their gear and put their vests on.

After they'd cleared the house,. Gibbs sent Tony and Ziva to talk to the neighbors while he checked the perimeter of the house and neighboring yards for access points and disturbances in the grassy areas Heading to the front of the house to get a visual check on his agents, he noticed an extremely agitated young man seemingly staggering down the street some 100 yards beyond where Tony and Ziva were across the street interviewing a neighbor who was home.

"Tony!" Gibbs called.

As Tony turned to Gibbs, the boss pointed at the agitated man. Ziva reacted with lightening fast reflexes, allowing her to reach the man before he'd gotten close enough to Gibbs to hurt him in any way. With Tony finally at her side, they both stood guard while Gibbs approached the man.

"What's your name?"

"Simon."

"Is there something wrong, Simon? You seem pretty agitated." Tony asked politely for Gibbs.

"I didn't wanna do it! She made me do it! And now she forced me to take matters in my own hands!"

"Simon. Slow down. Who made you do what?"

"Christina. Well, she goes by Liz, but her real name's Christina."

"Okay, what did she make you do, Simon?" Ziva asked carefully.

"I didn't wanna . I swear!"

"And we believe you. But you have to tell us what it is she made you do." Ziva pushed.

Simon hung his head and began sobbing.

"Bring him back with us. I'll go get the nurse." Gibbs directed "How many more neighbors have you got left ?"

"Already talked to the fews that answered their doors, Boss." Tony said.

"Okay, go. Get Ducky to give you an assessment on this guy before you start questioning him. See if you can get something from him for Abby to do a tox screen on him. If you get the all clear from Ducky, talk to him, together. "

"On it, Boss." Tony said as they cuffed the man as a safety precaution and headed back to the Yard with him.

Gibbs located Nurse Johnson at home and asked her to come back with him to answer some questions about the near fatal incident at the hospital. Since he'd asked nicely and she remembered him from the incident, she'd felt compelled to cooperate and was soon back at NCIS in a different interrogation room than Simon.

Simon had voluntarily given then a lock of his hair and Ducky had gotten him to pee in a cup, after convincing the man that they only had his best interests at heart and they wanted to make sure he was in good health since he looked ill.

"Why would she do that? I loved her! I warned her not to chase after him! I told her not to trick him like that. He was a fed for God's sake! I knew she was just leadin' him on so she could get her revenge on his boss! She always bragged about how easy it was to worm her way into his heart! It made me sick! Playin him like that! I loved her, damn it!" the man's raving had not stopped once they'd gotten the samples from him and left him in peace for a few moments.

His words were enlightening and worrisome at the same time. Both Tony and Ziva held out hope that this time, coincidences really do happen. After all, how else could you explain the fact that this man was practically handing them their evidence in McGee's case? They needed more information.

"Simon. Can you show me a picture of her?" Tony asked as he walked back into the room with Ziva on his tail.

The man dug out his wallet and produced a photograph that stopped Tony's heart. With careful control, Tony remained calm as he continued to ask the important questions.

"What's her full name, Simon? What does she do for a living?"

"She don't do nothin' Got booted from the Navy. Said she got blamed for another squid's death 'cause she didn't check the squid's id's closely enough when they came off shore-leave. Name's…

"Christine Solomon." Tony supplied in synch with Simon.


	15. Chapter 15

Nurse Johnson was more than helpful. She felt badly for Agent McGee. Gibbs questioned her about the IV. She administered to Tim.

"The nurse you accepted the IV. from. Who is she?" was Gibbs' first question.

"You know, I've been wondering that same thing. I'd never seen her before. But, we get new nurses all the time, Agent Gibbs. I feel just terrible. If I had stopped running long enough, I would have talked to her before I simply took what she was handing me!"

"Would you recognize her if you saw her again?"

"Yes. I would. I've checked the logs and I even checked with personnel, she's not with the hospital."

"Okay, I've got something I wanna show you. C'mon." Gibbs led her out of the conference room and down the hall, through the different hallways of the building until they reached the room he wanted her at. Opening the door, he was happy to see Tim was peacefully sleeping.

"Jethro? Everything all right?" Ducky asked as he joined him at the door and spoke quietly.

"Yeah, Duck. Got a visitor for you. Got a minute?" Gibbs asked as he beckoned Ducky out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

"Nurse Johnson! What a pleasant surprise." Ducky kissed the woman's cheek and offered her a genuine smile.

""Doctor Mallard. How nice to see you again. Agent Gibbs I don't mean to be rude but, why are we here at this room?"

Gibbs looked pointedly at Ducky and allowed the M.E. to explain.

"My dear, this is where Timothy is recovering." Ducky explained.

"You have him here? I thought he'd been transferred to another hospital." Nurse Johnson said in surprise.

"He's safer here." Gibbs said quietly.

"Yes, what he needs most is sleep and he's getting plenty of it here. Would you like to see how he's doing for yourself?" Ducky supplied.

"I'd like that. Thank you." Nurse Johnson replied with a smile.

"You understand that until we've caught whoever did this, you can't tell anyone that you saw him here." Gibbs said.

"Certainly, Agent Gibbs." she answered with promise.

"Okay. Let's go see him. Duck, how's he doin?" Gibbs answered

"Fine, Jethro. He's sleeping much more peacefully since you and Anthony spoke with him." the M.E. answered calmly.

"Good. Nurse Johnson, would you stay with Ducky till I get back?" Gibbs asked.

"Certainly, if the good Doctor doesn't object." she answered without hesitation.

"Thank you. Duck, I'm gonna check in on Tony and Ziva. I'll be back." Gibbs promised.

"No hurries Jethro, Timothy will sleep most of the afternoon, now." Ducky volunteered.

Gibbs nodded wordlessly and headed out after stepping up to the bed and gently sweeping the hair out of Tim' eyes and looking him over.

Once he'd left, Nurse Johnson turned to Ducky.

"He cares a great deal about this young man." She observed.

"Jethro cares a great deal about everyone on his team." Ducky acknowledged solemnly. "They are like his children."

"And you?" she asked.

"I seem to be the guardian of the flock, the elder uncle if you will." Duck said with a smile.

"Oh, I see. Well, Agent McGee certainly seems to be doing well." she said with a smile.

"He is still in a great deal of pain when he is awake but has developed no infections so he is doing well." Ducky supplied.

* * *

Gibbs made his way to the observation room, silently watching Tony and Ziva question Simon.

_  
"Simon. Can you show me a picture of her?" Tony asked._

_The man dug out his wallet and produced a photograph_

_"What's her full name, Simon? What does she do for a living?"_

_"She don't do nothin' Got booted from the Navy. Said she got blamed for another squid's death 'cause she didn't check the squid's id's closely enough when they came off shore-leave. Name's…_

_"Christine Solomon." Tony supplied in synch with Simon._

Gibbs felt his heart stop_. That's where he'd heard those phrases before! He'd said them to her The Lt. Evans Case on the USS Seahawk when Tony was Agent Afloat there!_

Gibbs' anguished thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Without taking his eyes off his agents still in with Simon, he answered it.

"Yeah. Gibbs."

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Timmy's cell phone was bugged! Not with a bug, bug, but with a tracking bug! That's why he couldn't find it! "

"That's good work, Abbs." Gibbs offered as he hung up and headed into the interrogation room.

As he entered the room, Tony handed him the photo of Former Officer of the Deck aboard the USS Seahawk, Christine Solomon. Gibbs handed it back to Tony, who placed in the file and headed out to update the case. Ziva remained nearby, unwilling to leave this man alone with Gibbs. She did not trust that this man was as he seemed.

"Where is she?" Gibbs asked quietly but with steel.

"I had to do it! She shouldn't have betrayed me like that I loved her!" Simon answered angrily.

"You had to do what?" Ziva asked before Gibbs could.

"Take care of her!" the suspect answered as if the answer was pure common sense.

"What does that mean?" Ziva asked angrily.

"Means, he killed her. If you couldn't have her, no one else was going to either, right, Simon?" Gibbs asked the man calmly.

"Exactly! I loved her! She should have respected that! She had no right to betray me like that with that Fed!"

"Where is she?" Gibbs asked again.

"In her car." the guilty man said calmly.

"What kind of car did she drive, Simon? What color is it?" Gibbs asked calmly.

"Bug. It's a funny blue color. Why? You want her car? But, she said I could have it!" the man replied, getting angry.

"You can have it, when we are done with it. Where is it?" Ziva asked calmly.

"At the marina." Simon admitted meekly.

Gibbs nodded at Ziva who headed out to investigate.

"Tell me what you know about what she did to the Fed." Gibbs directed even as his stomach clenched at where this interrogation now needed to go.

"She lured him in and sweet-talked him. Had him believin' she really loved him. Said she was gonna get real close to him and then when he least expected it, she was gonna kill him. Said the guy's boss deserved to have his death on his conscience after he got her dishonorably discharged on account of that squid gettin killed and her accidentally lettin' his killer pose as him on the ship. She had no right!"

"You helped her? When she shot him, you went with her and shot at him too?" Gibbs asked.

"She said one shot wouldn't be enough! I only went along with so she'd come back to me after he was dead! She swore she would!" the man defended his actions.

"Tell me how it happened." the agent directed.

"She put a tracking thing in his phone. She told me it would make her plan go off without a problem."

"Okay. Then what happened?" the questions from the agent kept coming.

"We followed him. When he stopped at that store, we went ahead and took up spots where we could get a clean shot at him. She didn't wanna take any chances of him walkin' away. Said he had to die for her revenge to be final." Simon admitted.

"Okay. Tell me about how she got into the hospital drug supply." Gibbs ordered.

"Don't know nuthin' bout that!" the man declared.

"Are you sure?" the agent asked.

"Don't know nuthin' bout that, I tell ya!" Simon yelled.

"Okay. Well, you're in custody until we find Christine Solomon." Gibbs warned him as he got up and walked out.

Standing outside the room, Gibbs made a call and set two guards on the man's door. With this done, he headed back to the room where Tim was recuperating. Ducky and Nurse Johnson were quietly talking as they watched Tim sleep. As Gibbs stepped up to the door, both Ducky and the nurse stepped out.

"You can go, C'mon, I'll walk you out." Gibbs offered.

"Jethro, I'll do the honors if you will stay with Timothy." Ducky intervened.

"Sure, Duck." Gibbs said with a smile. "Thank you for your help." he said to the nurse.

"You are very welcome. Thank you for allowing me to see that Agent McGee is recovering and being kept safe." the kindly woman responded.

If you think of anything or can recall the woman's name, please let me know." Gibbs asked of her.

"Certainly, Agent Gibbs." came her answer before Ducky walked with her out of the room.

Left alone with his injured and sleeping agent, Gibbs blew out a sigh of frustration and anger. This young man's life had been ripped apart because of a pissed off woman. And now, his agent would most likely never be the same again. And even with the physical pain and recovery ahead of him, it was the emotional recovery Gibbs was most worried about.

As he sat lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the young man's eyes flutter open and close again. When he phone rang, he glanced at his apparently still sleeping agent and turned from the bed to answer it.

"Yeah. Gibbs."

"Boss, we found her. Just like he told us. Dead. laid out in the backseat, covered with a blanket. Wouldn't have been noticed for a while if at all." Tony told him.

"Okay, I'll get Ducky out there. Stay there till he's on his way back here." Gibbs directed.

"On it, Boss. How's Probie?" Tony answered as he made sure he got an update on his team mate.

"Sleeping." Gibbs answered without turning around.

"Okay." Tony hung up, knowing Gibbs was going to anyway.

Gibbs pulled out his phone and called the M.E., "Duck, got a body for ya. The Marina, Tony and Ziva are there. Take Palmer. I'll stay with McGee."

"Certainly, Jethro."

Gibbs snapped his phone shut and let out a huge sigh. Even though the case had pretty much been solved, the Recovery was just beginning and was long from over.

"You found "Lizbeth? She's dead?" came the broken voice from the bed behind him.


	16. Chapter 16

Gibbs schooled his features, unwilling to show his injured and now distraught agent anything but compassion. Turning around, he pocketed his phone

"Looks that way." the boss said as gently as he could.

"Because of me?" the young man asked as his tear filled eyes looked to Gibbs' own for the truth he knew he'd find there.

"No, Tim, it was _not_ because of you." Gibbs quiet honesty had the desired effect and Tim seemed to relax from a rigidity Gibbs for once, hadn't even noticed in him until now.

"How you feelin'?" the older man asked both out of concern and out of the need to change the subject.

"Like crap." the young man said with a grimace of pain as he shifted in the bed to get more comfortable, his injuries excruciatingly protesting in the process.

"As soon as we're sure we've gotten everyone who was involved, we'll get you outta here and into a real bed, all right?"

"Okay." Tim looked decidedly less than thrilled with that idea.

"Problem?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"My bed's kinda low to the floor, Boss. And, I don't own a couch." Tim worried.

"Thought you were smart enough to figure out we wouldn't be letting you go to your apartment to recover, McGee. You're goin' to Ducky's. He's got everything you need. This way, he'll be right there to take care of whatever medical issues come up or any complications,. And, Jethro will love his yard." Gibbs shared.

"You sure Ducky won't mind?" Tim asked obviously still worrying.

"You know better than that." Gibbs reminded him calmly. "Besides, if you really thought we're gonna let you sleep on a couch with your injuries, you're seriously overdue for a head slap."

Tim silently closed his eyes and nodded as more tears escaped and slid down his face. Wordlessly, he turned his head away from his boss.

Gibbs deliberately didn't mention the young man's tears but opted to change the subject for him instead, asking calmly "You up for some company?"

"Not really." Tim's quiet answer came with unusually brutal honesty in a voice that was breaking from the strain of having to provide an answer in the midst of his current emotional storm.

It was clear to Gibbs that Tim needed some time to go ahead and let go of what he was feeling. But, first, he needed to know that he didn't have to do it alone.

"I'm here if you need to talk, Tim. I don't want you blaming yourself for any of this, you hear me?" Gibbs advised him quietly.

Tim nodded, now too choked with tears to answer.

Gibbs clamped a hand down on the young man's good shoulder and squeezed comfortingly. Tim's hand almost immediately reached up and clamped down on the hand on his shoulder, an unusual but obvious silent cry for unwavering emotional support. Underneath his hand, Gibbs felt the young man's shoulder begin to shake as the overwhelming tide of emotions rolled through his agent.

Through Tim's tears, Gibbs could only keep his grounding hand on the young man's shoulder and let him cry it out. Gibbs also couldn't help but worry and wonder how they were gonna get Tim back from this experience. It wasn't long before his agent's body and mind gave in to the exhaustion, his emotional storm had brought on. Watching the young man settle into sleep, Gibbs could only hope Tim could start to heal emotionally as well as physically, although there was no doubt, both recoveries would be a long tough road.

_How had Christine found and targeted Tim? It was obvious why she hadn't pursued Tony or Gibbs; they, after all would have recognised her in a heartbeat. But, where had she gotten Tim's name from_?

As the questions ran through his mind, Gibbs realized this case wasn't quite sewn up just yet. There were still unanswered questions and possibly more people involved. Hopefully, they'd find the answers soon. It wasn't looking like Tim could handle staying here much longer. Things needed to be brought back to some sort of normalcy for him, like being in a real bed in a real place to stay.

Two hours later found the entire team back in the building. As Tony and Ducky headed toward the patient's room, Gibbs headed them off out in the hallway.

"Tony, sit with him. Not one joke about any of this!" Gibbs ordered in a quiet tone mixed with something unrecognizable.

"Boss, I wouldn't!" Tony said defensively.

"Tony, He's asleep. Don't wake him." the boss said.

The tone didn't miss its' mark. Once again, Gibbs said much with what little was heard. Tony nodded and went in to sit with his teammate.

"Jethro?"

"Duck, I told Tim he'd be staying with you as soon as we're sure he's safe. Think you can handle it?"

"Of course, Jethro. It makes sense. it will certainly simplify his recovery." Ducky answered.

"Jethro, too, Duck." Gibbs warned with a slight smile.

"Not a problem, Jethro." the M.E. accepted good naturedly with a smile of his own.

"Good. Should be able to take him home with you within the next day or so." Gibbs advised with complete seriousness and that yet to be recognized edge .

"You're worried about him." Ducky observed.

"Yeah, Duck. I am. It's a fairly safe bet that you're gonna need to put that degree of yours to good use soon." Gibbs turned away and headed to the squad room

Once he reached his desk, he looked around at his team's work space, thinking how strange it was to find it empty. He hoped it wouldn't last very much longer. Wasting no time, he turned and headed to the lab.

"Whattaya got for me, Abbs?" he asked as he set her caf-pow down and kissed her cheeck.

"First, how's Timmy? I havent' seen him all day, so you gotta tell me how he's doin'!" Abby declared.

"He's sleeping." Gibbs answered her in his quiet matter of fact tone.

"Gibbs!" the Goth wasn't satisfied.

As Ziva watched silently, Gibbs looked at both of them seriously, hoping they'd get the point.

"He's hurting. Right now he's doing what's best for him, sleeping. Now, can we put this case to bed so we can let him get outta here and get some real sleep?"

"Almost. The fingerprints on the iv bag match Christina's." Abby offered.

"And the surveillence tape from the hospital lab and supply closet says she was in it on her own. She was the mystery nurse. She snuck into the supply closet for the uniform and then hit the lab for the codeine."

"So, she plots to get revenge on me by taking Tim out." Gibbs reasoned out.

"And to make sure Timmy died, she dosed his iv with an overdose of codeine." Abby supplied.

"And Simon kills her because he feels betrayed. She promised to return to him if Simon helps her kill Tim. Obviously, she had a change of heart" Ziva added.

"So, we have no reason to believe anyone else was involved." Abby reminded them.

"Yeah, we do." Gibbs said. "Unless you found a bug in any of his things. She had to have had someway of knowing when he wasn't at the yard. You trace the pictures yet?"

"Gibbs!"

"Abby, until we've gotten to the bottom of these two questions, he can't move on. Hell, he can't even leave here!" Gibbs reminded her before he turned on his heel and walked out.

"Jeez!" Abby declared in frustration.

"Abby, you must give Gibbs a break. I believe he is very upset at what this will do to McGee when McGee has had time to let it all sink in." Ziva reminded Abby calmly.

"I know, Ziva, it breaks my heart. Makes me want to unkill her so I can kill her myself!" Abby said angrily.

"Relax, Abby. Let us just find the answers to these two questions and then McGee, as Gibbs said, can go home to a real bed and some real sleep." Ziva suggested.

"Oh, but he can't go home. I mean he has those three flights of stairs and no comfortable bed that's not close to the floor and he has no couch!" Abby cried.

"Abby. Abby, I am sure that Gibbs has already thought of that." Ziva reasoned.

"Yeah, you're right. Okay, let's do this." Abby declared.

Up in the squad room, Gibbs was sitting quietly at his desk, trying to organize his thoughts and think of what needed to be done for Tim.

Down in the recovery room, Tony and Ducky were both watching Tim sleep. After a few minutes of untroubled silent sleep from his team mate, Tony took his leave and headed to the squad room.

"Hey, Boss." Tony greeted quietly.

"Tony. Go help the girls in the lab." Gibbs requested.

"On it, Boss." Tony said as he headed back out.

"Tony, as soon as you can, you and Ziva go with Duck. He's gonna need help getting his house ready for McGee. Get Abby to sit with Tim while Ducky's gone. Remind he to keep McGee calm. I don't want anyone bugging him to talk about any of this.. Make sure Palmer's on standby and that Abby knows to call him if she needs to." Gibbs requested.

"Sure thing, Boss." Tony said as he double timed his steps to the lab.

* * *

Four hours later, the final questions that surrounded Tim's safety had been answered to Gibbs' satisfaction. The bugs and gps markers Christine/Elizabeth had planted in Tim's bag and phone were found and destroyed. Nurse Johnson gave them confirmation that Christine was the 'nurse' she'd accepted the iv from.

Open and shut case that only involved Christine and Simon. Tim was out of danger on both fronts and Gibbs almost felt like smiling. Too much harm had been done, too much pain had been inflicted for that smile to get past his thoughts, though. It was entirely possible that they wouldn't get Tim back from the abyss this vengeful woman had just thrown him back into. It had taken the poor kid six months to climb out of it the first time he'd been so heartlessly thrown there. Three months after that, he had still questioned whether or not he was on solid ground.

On top of that, the question remained just what this vengeful woman had hoped to gain by going after one of Gibbs' team. How exactly it added up to payback for her losing her job was still beyond comprehension, but then again, so was Simon's twisted reasoning for helping her but then killing her because she'd done it in the first place. There was no way to wrap logic around this situation.

Twisted logic that had broken another person's heart and damn near killed him. Life was so far beneath fair it left Gibbs wanting to go crawl up under a rock somewhere and be left alone. Somehow, that sentiment was exactly what he feared they'd find if they looked deep enough into McGee's state of mind from all this. Luckily, Gibbs knew without a shadow of a doubt that everyone on this team would do their best to keep Tim from doing just that.

Gibbs was relieved that his agent would be under medical supervision as well as under the guidence of someone who was a pretty damn good listener and not to shabby with advice. There was no doubt that Tim would need every bit of the help Ducky could provide him with. Maybe, just maye, Ducky would be able to get Tim to fight his way back to standing back up on his feet.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Gibbs headed to the room where Tim was so he could help get the young man trasported to Ducky's. Adding a sleeping agent to the young man's medicinal dosage a short fifteen minutes ago, had ensured that Tim's trip would not cause him much pain. No one was willing to add that to his problems.

A mere 45 minutes later, Tim McGee was safely tucked up in Ducky's bedroom, still peacefully sleeping. Thankfully, he hadn't woken up at all during the trip. Even when the guys had worked together and literally picked him up and transferred him from the gurney to Ducky's king size bed, he didn't stir. All of them were pleased about that. Abby had provided a state of the art baby video moniter for a silent method of keeping an eye on him. With that in place, the team left the young man to his sleepp. The more undisturbed sleep he got, the better off he'd be and the quicker his healing could begin.


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: A special "Thank You" goes out to my Beta, shelbylou and my faithful muse, chelsea1234  my cheering squad: all the reviewers who have steadfastly stood by my stories and enjoyed them for the fiction they are._

* * *

Tony sat in the arm chair in Ducky's master bedroom, watching Probie sleep. Whatever Ducky had given the kid to sleep through the transition from NCIS to Ducky's bed, had to be a miracle drug, because he hadn't so much as stirred in the last four hours. Tony was worried and every part of his brain was wrapped up in guilt.

He'd never been good at wearing this particular type of emotion before. Shrugging it off or passing it to someone else had always come easy. But this time, it fit him like a glove. He'd lost those letters from Abby while he'd been stationed on the U.S.S. Seahawk; letters that Christine found and kept; used to her advantage and almost to Tim's demise. Tony had been the reason she'd fallen under the investigative wheels of justice. It had been the thorough job of Tony and Gibbs and Ziva that Christine had witnessed firsthand. Tim and Abby's contributions had been behind the scenes, until the court hearing that officially sentenced her and cost her her military career.

So, she'd gotten Tim's name and information about him from Abby's letters, which were always full of titbits of what was going on while he was on 'Agent Afloat' duty. And since Abby had steadfastly kept her friendship with Tim in good standing, her letters had been full of info on him. Tony had started this ball rolling some two years ago and had never even realized it.

He'd almost cost Tim his life! Belittling him and make his life miserable because as the Senior Field Agent, he could, was one thing; damn near costing the man his life and causing him to get his heart seriously and completely crushed in the process, was another and it was unacceptable. The most painful kick of it was, there was no way to every make this right or fix it or even to help Tim get back on his feet.

Shaking his head in misery and concern, Tony took out his cell and hit a speed dial.

"Anthony?"

"Duck, he hasn't so much as twitched in the four hours he's been here. How do we know he's okay?" Tony asked quietly in absolute worry.

"Timothy's body simply needs the rest, Anthony; there is nothing to be worried about. However, if it will set your mind at ease, I will come check his vital signs again." Ducky offered.

"Thanks, Ducky." Tony replied in his still quiet tone, with relief.

Ducky soon arrived and proceeded to check Tim's vital signs, Tony used the opportunity to step out for the chance to breathe. His head was so full of guilt, remorse and self-recriminations, he almost didn't have room for normal thoughts.

Ducky noticed Anthony's distress and made a decision to offer a suggestion up to Jethro as soon as he was done checking on Timothy. Once he'd completed what he'd needed to do, Ducky stepped back out into the hallway and into Ziva.

"Hello, Ziva. Have you come to sit with Timothy?" Ducky asked.

"Yes, Ducky. Tony said he needed to get some fresh air so I have volunteered to sit with McGee in his place." Ziva replied.

"Wonderful. He may very well continue to sleep through the evening and on through the night." Ducky warned.

"That is what his body needs, yes?" Ziva questioned.

"It would be the best thing for him, yes." Ducky answered. "Call me if he wakes, will you please?"

"Yes, Ducky. I will." Ziva answered as she headed into the room.

Ducky watched Ziva walk into the room before heading downstairs to talk to his dear friend.

"Jethro, I fear we have another problem on our hands."

"Something else wrong with McGee?" Gibbs asked worriedly.

"No. His condition remains the same. Unfortunately, this time Jethro, the problem is Anthony."

"What about him, Duck?" Gibbs asked in concern.

"He has taken on a world of troubles on his shoulders and is seriously in need of someone to listen to whatever that trouble is. I would hazard to say that it has to do with Timothy's case. I would suggest that you get them both to talk things through with a psychologist and soon, Jethro."

"Yeah, Duck. You're right. Can you call someone in? No one tied with the Agency, but maybe someone willing to make house calls, or at least one?" Gibbs asked.

"I will see what I can come up with, Jethro."

"Thanks, Duck. I'm gonna go talk to Tony. You got this?" Gibbs asked as he pointed up the stairs.

"Of course.. Ziva's with Timothy now, they'll be good company for each other when he awakens." Ducky reassured him.

* * *

Gibbs found Tony a mile from his house, leaning against the fencing that overlooked the kids' playground at the local park.

"Somethin' on your mind?" Gibbs asked when he reached him and settled against the fence next to the younger man.

"That easy to read, huh?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"What's goin' on, Tony?" Gibbs pushed.

"This is my fault. Who stops to think, 'Gee, what I do now will affect everyone in my life two years and four months from now?' " Tony admitted with self-recrimination.

"What exactly is it that makes this your fault, DiNozzo?" the boss pushed quietly.

"I gave her the ammo to find and use McGee. Letters I got from Abby while I was on the Seahawk; letters that were full of her details of how Tim was doing and how their friendship seemed to be the only thing that kept Probie going, how he felt isolated and well, details she could have only gotten from those letters. And the fact that I misplaced a couple of them, adds up to my fault, Boss." Tony admitted remorsefully.

"You didn't pull the trigger, DiNozzo. You didn't plant the bugs in his stuff. You didn't follow him around and take pictures of him for six months. You damn sure didn't hire her or her crazy boyfriend to do any of it, so, again, how is any of this your fault?"

Tony was silent for a long contemplative minute.

"You know what I mean, Boss." Came his surprising answer. He didn't have the energy to argue the point.

"Yeah, Tony, I do. Let me ask you something. You think McGee blames you?"

"No. but then again, Probie's too heartbroken and physically wounded to think about blame right now." Tony answered.

"You think he'll blame you when he does get around to thinking about who's to blame? Cause we both know he will reach that question sooner than later." Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, I know. No, I don't think he'll blame me. I think he'll blame himself. And if he does that, he'll never date again." Tony said regretfully.

"That's the least of our worries, DiNozzo." Gibbs warned.

"Boss? How is Probie blamin' himself the least of our worries?"

"Not what I meant, DiNozzo. Him not dating is the least of our worries, right now."

"Oh, right. "

"This one doesn't belong to any of us, Tony. And if we're gonna help McGee realize it's not his, we damn sure can't hang onto it ourselves. We all have to let this one go." The older man reasoned.

"I see your point, Boss. It's just…"

"Hard to let go when you feel responsible, I get it, Tony. But, you're not, so let it go. Concentrate on getting McGee to move on." Gibbs pushed.

"You sure that's possible this time?" Tony asked sceptically.

Gibbs didn't answer. There was no reason to share his doubts on the subject. No, it was better to stay focused on trying to achieve this, even if none of them thought it a possible result. They owed it to Tim, as their team mate and friend, to not give up on him, even if he did what they all feared he would and gave up on himself.


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: A special "Thank You" goes out to my Beta, __shelbylou__ and my faithful muse, __chelsea1234 __my cheering squad: all the reviewers who have steadfastly stood by my stories and enjoyed them for the fiction they are.

* * *

_

With no new case to solve and the need for help in taking care of Timothy, Ducky requested Gibbs give the okay for someone to stay with the young man for at least part of the day, preferably on a rotating basis, both for their benefit and for Timothy's. The need to keep changing things up was prevalent with the possibility of depression or worse hanging over their heads where Tim was concerned.

It wasn't long before even with the team switching off, the days became part of a normal routine for them all. They would all work the normal day, with one of them going to Ducky's at mid-morning and check on Tim. One of the other two would come at lunch time and spend their lunch hour with him. Then, mid afternoon, would bring someone else to check on him. The end of the day, of course would bring Ducky home and most nights the team would congregate there to let Tim see they were all there for him.

Unfortunately, the only Tim they saw was the distant, seemingly broken one. Too filled with bitterness and self-recriminations to see anything else, only his physical pain kept him cognitive of the here and now. His mind, whenever dulled by painkillers, would retreat to whatever place it had found where it didn't have to think or focus. It was evident in the blankness of his eyes when he'd lay awake but unseeing and not responding to any of them.

The team was frustrated. They'd all tried to get through to him and no one had been able to. Only Ducky seemed to even get him to take his meds or even eat. The best the rest of them could do was leaving his meals on the bedside table along with his meds and his water. It didn't take long, only two days, before Gibbs had become as concerned about Tim as the rest of them

Ducky had decided to not push him beyond his current state. While it was disturbing, it was actually helpful in the physical mending his body needed to go through. The emotional mending would come soon enough, Ducky believed.

While Gibbs had purposely taken a back seat to the rest of the team, let them move in and look after their teammate, he now felt responsible for Tim's lack of motivation to move on, to get past this. He'd let himself be convinced somehow, that Tim would simply rise above it. He didn't know when it had happened. He remembered being concerned about this very problem just a few days ago. So, what had happened? Work had happened and it had been simpler just to push easier soluttions around in his brain until, somehow, they'd become the answers.

He'd been wrong and Tim was suffering for it. Silently,emotionally and mentally suffering. It needed to be stopped. Sending the team home for a much needed respite from trying to juggle their sleep, helping with Tim and work; Gibbs took himself up to Ducky's bedroom to see for himself what was going on. Ducky hadn't argued with him but he had stressed the need to keep his physical recovery at the forefront of concern. It had, after all, been less than a week since the young man had been shot.

Gibbs sat in the armchair after bringing it closer to the bed and setting his feet up on the end of the bed. As he sat there, silently looking Tim over while the young man slept, Gibbs noticed the body language begin to change. Tim's hands were the first thing to change. Where they'd been laid flat and resting calmly when he first came in, they now began to clench into fists and unclench, almost rhymthmiclly. His face became pinched, as if in pain and his limbs began to shift on the bed. When his body began to get restless, the pain obviously became worse as the cries that now came from him gave testament to.

Knowing it wasn't time for Tim's pain meds, Gibbs did the only other thing he knew to do, he changed his seating, sitting down next to Tim and reaching out to him; smoothing the hair back from his forehead, laying a comforting hand on his good shoulder, whispering words of comfort in his ear.

"ssh. Tim. You're okay, just relax."

Gibbs' words seem to help, although they didn't work complete magic. As the pain seemed to ease, Tim's eyes opened, almost immediately finding those of his boss. Still waking up and still in pain, Tim seemed to freeze where he was, almost relaxed, soaking up Gibbs' presence, like he would a dose of vitamins.

Not wanting to startle him or dissuade him from finding strength where he could, Gibbs kept Tim's gaze without altering so much as the look on his face. After a long tense minute, Tim seemed to regain his sense of time and place. As he blinked, Gibbs felt finally able to take a breath.

"Boss?" Tim's tentative voice tugged at Gibbs' heartstrings.

"Tim? I'm gonna call Ducky up here and we're gonna talk about this pain you're in, okay?"

"Thought it was normal. When you get shot twice." Tim said quietly.

"I want Ducky to weigh in on it." Gibbs got up and went out to the hallway.

"Hey, Duck!" Gibbs hollered down.

Ducky appeared at the stairs.

"Come up here a minute?" Gibbs asked. "Bring you r bag?

"What seems to be the problem, Jethro? Ah, Timothy, you're awake!" Ducky said when he arrived in the room a short two minutes later.

"Hey, Ducky." Tim said quietly.

"Tell him why you're awake, Tim." Gibbs instructed him in a quiet tone.

"In too much pain to sleep," the young man admitted still in the too quiet tone that unsettled Gibbs.

"When did you take your last pain pill, Timothy?"

"When Abby brought it to me " Tim answered right away.

"That was more than four hours ago. No wonder you're in pain. You must eat first."

"I'm not hungry, Ducky, honest." Tim said earnestly.

"Yes, I'm sure you're not. Small wonder with the lack of exercise you've been suffering from. Can you raise up?"

Tim tried to raise himself up with Gibbs helping him and although the pain was surreal, he suffered through it as silently as he could and accomplished the task. He needn't have bothered trying to be so quiet about it, though as both Ducky and Gibbs were obviously upset with his silence on the subject now. There was no doubt they'd seen the obvious signs of pain for what they were

"Why didn't you just tell us it hurt too damn much to sit up, McGee?" Gibbs demanded angrily.

"Jethro, calm down. Timothy, Jethro is quite right. You must not do that again. You need to tell us when you're in that much pain, dear boy." Ducky admonished both of them.

Gibbs sat down in the armchair, too angry to sit any closer for fear of handing the kid a serious head slap.

Ducky took the half of a sandwich off the plate he'd brought with him and instructed Tim to take several good sized bites and to drink his water. As Tim did as Ducky instructed, silently and almost embarrassed, Ducky got his pain meds out and proceeded to fill a pill organizer for the week.

As Timothy finished half of the half sandwich, Ducky turned toward Jethro and held out the prescribed meds and told him to wait a good ten minutes before letting Timothy have them. Ducky left, knowing the two needed to talk.

While waiting for the ten minutes to lapse, Gibbs decided to try to work through some of what had to be bothering Tim.

"Had any time to think? Or have you been pretty out of it when you're not sleeping?" Gibbs began.

Tim looked down at his hands in his lap.

"Tim?"

"Haven't wanted to think about anything, Boss."

"Think that'll help you get through it?"

"Not really."

"You just hopin' that pretty soon, you'll just happen to wake up numb from it all?' Gibbs asked quietly serious.

"Kinda." Tim admitted guiltily.

"Nothin' wrong with that, Tim. Except it's not likely to happen for you."

Tim looked crestfallen.

"And you're living in misery in the meantime. You deserve better. But, you're the only one that can change it for yourself." The boss reasoned for him.

Suddenly, feeling the need for more answers, Tim looked Gibbs straight on and waited silently for answers he somehow knew were coming.

"It's a head decision, McGee. You have to decide to do better for yourself. Are you gonna let her win? You gonna let her have your life even after she's dead?" Gibbs pushed.

"I don't want her to win, Boss." Tim admitted.

"What are you gonna do to take your life back from her, McGee?""

"Not really sure." The young man admitted.

"Okay. What do you want outta your life? What are your goals, McGee? Start there." Gibbs encouraged. "While you're recovering from the physical stuff, concentrate your brain power on finding the answers to those questions!"

Tim spent a long silent minute mulling over Gibbs' words. After a few minutes, he looked up and smiled at Gibbs; a genuine Tim McGee smile.

"Thanks, Boss."

Gibbs had never been so happy to hear those words as he was at that moment. Still, for the young man's sake, he had to come down hard on him, challenge him.

"You wanna thank me? You keep your head in the game and don't let anyone talk you out of it! Take your life back, with both hands! Get some help working through this before it buries you.

"I will, Boss. I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to it. All of it!"

"I know, Boss, I know. Honestly, I'm gonna need you to do jus that."

"You hold yourself to it first, Tim!!"

"I will."

Gibbs got up and handed Tim his pain pills and water, standing by him as he took them. When the meds had been taken, Gibbs ruffled the young man's hair and smiled at him.

"Now, get some real sleep."

"Thanks, Boss."

"That's what family's do, McGee."

"That's what family's do.


End file.
